History 101: Governments and Politics are Transient, Identity and Culture Lasts

Professor Norman Davies, British historian and author of Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations, discusses:

- Whether there is a more futile effort than the construction of kingdoms;
- History appearing to not have taught mankind that empires crumble;  
- China - - but flashpoints - Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan;
- European Union - similarities - fabled kingdoms like Byzantion, Aragon and even the USSR - disintegration;
- Soviet Union - crumbled - details;
- Longevity - identitiy - culture - importance - ingredients;
- Collapse of the USSR - lies and half-truths - eventual truth - major factor behind collapse;
- Malleability - history books - Stanford University experience;
- Why history should be taught.