I agree. History backwards is a "this is why this is so" lesson. While history forwards is..."here's some stuff, it'll all make sense in a few years if you kee

I agree. History backwards is a "this is why this is so" lesson. While history forwards is..."here's some stuff, it'll all make sense in a few years if you keep studying". Understanding how we've arrived here, and all the connections going backwards can be profoundly enlightening, allowing you to try to project events forwards, because cause and effect are laid out for you. Memorizing books full of facts just turns you into an encyclopedia and don't really let you try to understand how to break the present down to get at what the driving forces are behind the now.