But that brings me on to the second lesson of postwar history.

In postwar history, crises usually push politics to the right.

Being re-elected with unemployment above 9 per cent would be a unique accomplishment in the postwar history of the presidency.

But he had to face accusations, as historical material became available, that his own role in postwar history had been far from noble.

For all the talk of the 1960s cultural revolutions and political upheavals, the hinge of postwar history was the mid-1950s.