When I was researching my book ‚The 33 Strategies of War‘, I studied Napoleon extensively and I found myself wanting to ask Napoleon questions about things he did, and if was I interpreting his actions correctly.

Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately after they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.

The Creator has not thought proper to mark those in the forehead who are of stuff to make good generals. We are first, therefore, to seek them blindfold, and then let them learn the trade at the expense of great losses.

To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.

Early on, I was so impressed with Charles Dickens. I grew up in the South, in a little village in Arkansas, and the whites in my town were really mean, and rude. Dickens, I could tell, wouldn’t be a man who would curse me out and talk to me rudely.

Yeah, I like to keep myself interested – I’ll kind of throw myself into some area that I don’t completely know or understand, that I’m not adept at, so I’m forced to swim in order to stay afloat. There’s a good feeling that comes from that.

The book of female logic is blotted all over with tears, and Justice in their courts is forever in a passion.

I never liked Hans Christian Andersen because I knew he was always getting at me.

Whatever the reviewers feel about ‚The Casual Vacancy‘, it is what I wanted it to be, and you can’t say fairer than that as a writer.

There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.

I consider myself to be as informed on American foreign policy as anyone in America.

A person hears only what they understand.

Characters do not change. Opinions alter, but characters are only developed.

Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything.

In no instance have… the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people.

Both the man of science and the man of action live always at the edge of mystery, surrounded by it.

Notifying the enemy in advance of our withdrawal dates or reassuring the enemy that we will not use certain capabilities like our ground forces should be avoided.

I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air.

Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written.

It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.

I thought my life was mapped out. Research, living in the forest, teaching and writing. But in ’86 I went to a conference and realised the chimpanzees were disappearing. I had worldwide recognition and a gift of communication. I had to use them.

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

History is more or less bunk.

Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question.

I’d done a lot of research in Hollywood and in academia. I love research and so I wanted to kind of ground the book in history, in things that I read that were universal and timeless and then kind of let my own experiences sort of filter through all of this history.

It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.

My advice is this. For Christ’s sake, don’t write a book that is suitable for a kid of 12 years old, because the kids who read who are 12 years old are reading books for adults. I read all of the James Bond books when I was about 11, which was approximately the right time to read James Bond books.

When written in Chinese, the word ‚crisis‘ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control.

A critic should be taught to criticise a work of art without making any reference to the personality of the author.

Space has always fascinated me. As a young boy looking up at the stars, I found it impossible to resist thinking what was out there and if I ever would experience space first-hand.

Someone asked me, if I were stranded on a desert island what book would I bring… ‚How to Build a Boat.‘

The fool wonders, the wise man asks.

I guess when you turn off the main road, you have to be prepared to see some funny houses.

What we achieved was a nuclear pause, not a nuclear halt.

Of course humans like to explore, and we should. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s more than that. It’s essential for your children and your children’s children.

Joan of Arc had style. Jesus had style.

The best author will be the one who is ashamed to become a writer.

It was because the chimps are so eye-catching, so like us and teach us so much that my work was recognised worldwide.

You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered.

Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.

Historian: an unsuccessful novelist.

The concept of Kimye has more cultural significance than what Page Six could write.

The answers you get from literature depend on the questions you pose.

The world has today 546 nuclear plants generating electricity. Their experience is being continuously researched, and feedback should be provided to all. Nuclear scientists have to interact with the people of the nation, and academic institutions continuously update nuclear power generation technology and safety.

Philosophy begins in wonder.

Assassination has never changed the history of the world.

I’m the first to admit this whole salary thing is getting out of control. In the final analysis, it’s still about the work.

I never experiment with anything in my books. Experimentation means you don’t know what you’re doing.

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

Stupidity is a talent for misconception.

Over the years, people I’ve met have often asked me what I’m working on, and I’ve usually replied that the main thing was a book about Dresden.

This administration is going to be cussed and discussed for years to come.

Issues are never simple. One thing I’m proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.

Industry need not wish.

I think the materialist conception of history is valid.

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.

War is so complex; human nature is so complex. There’s no filmmaker who has ever figured it out perfectly.

The perplexity of life arises from there being too many interesting things in it for us to be interested properly in any of them.

The quality of research in the U.S. is absolutely the best.