I believe passionately in preemptive pessimism, especially before a book comes out. I expect the worst both from reviewers and sales, and then, with any luck, I may be proved wrong.

To begin impatiently is the worst mistake a writer can make

If you smash a city when you're trying to capture it, you actually end up providing the perfect terrain for the defenders while blocking the access for your own armoured vehicles.

I just write the sort of book that I would enjoy reading myself, a book that is both scholarly and recreates the experience of people at that time.

Few things reveal more about political leaders and their systems than the manner of their downfall.

I think it's outrageous if a historian has a 'leading thought' because it means they will select their material according to their thesis

I joined the Army in 1965 and served with the 11th Hussars, which I loved. The regiment was so relaxed - a salute was more like a friendly wave.

The duty of a historian is simply to understand and then convey that understanding, no more than that.

I feel slightly uneasy at the way historians are consulted as if history is going to repeat itself. It never does.

The British bombing of Caen beginning on D-Day in particular was stupid, counter-productive and above all very close to a war crime.

I think one of the great disasters (in military history) is the way that the Second World War has become the defining reference point for every crisis and every conflict.

If it doesn't sell it isn't creative.

A nice blend of prediction and surprise seem to be at the heart of the best art.

The importance of the river cannot be overstated in the history of the country, or the development of the nation.

The Statue of Liberty is meant to be shorthand for a country so unlike its parts that a trip from California to Indiana should require a passport.

I've always felt lucky because my parents included my sister and I in their cultural life.

As we say in the sewer, time and tide wait for no man.

To survive the Borderlands you must live sin fronteras be a crossroads.

Better authentic mammon than a bogus god.

Anybody that'll stand up to The Cline is all right.

My parents were married 53 years, good and bad. Can I do that? Probably not. But I really hope I can.