"I think we are seeing a historical cycle," he said.

Many went into this election, they said, convinced that a historical cycle was drawing to a close.

The electronic age, he observes, has vaporized the parties, and may also interrupt the historical cycle.

"Given the historical cycle of dieting, it is probably inevitable that the protein diet is with us again," he said.

Do you think there is any hope the Valley will move away from its historical boom-and-bust cycle?

Once upon a time he wanted his legacy to be the completion of the Black Company's historical cycle.

And like the earlier novels in his historical cycle, Empire is a wonderfully vivid documentary drama.

But Mr. Smith said historical cycles over the past century suggested that its dominance might be coming to a close.

Here, Yeats incorporates his ideas on the gyre - a historical cycle of about 2000 years.

Black has historical cycles, as hemlines used to.