I found this when I was googling rather silly questions about the value of history. It is writen by someone called William Lund. It was by far the best thing I have found so far!
History is important because WE ARE the past: we are the sum of all the events–good, bad, and indifferent–that have happened to us. This sum product guides our actions in the present.
The only way we can understand who we are and how we got to be that way is by studying the past. Similarly, the only way we can understand others is by studying their past. If we don't understand what made them who they are–in terms of how they think and act–we will make all sorts of mistakes in our interactions with them. Think of how you treat people differently based on how you know them. The same is true for countries when it comes to diplomacy. Our failures in Iraq were borne of a limited understanding of who they are (because we haven't taken the time to truly study and understand their past).
"We study the past to understand the present; we understand the present to guide the future." — William Lund
