Never, in these United States, has the brain of man conceived, or the hand of man fashioned, so perfect a thing as a clipper ship.

If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile.

He [Columbus] enjoyed long stretches of pure delight such as only a seaman may know, and moments of high, proud exultation that only a discoverer can experience.

Dream dreams and write them aye, but live them first.

A few hints as to the craft may be useful to budding historians. First and foremost, get writing!

Historical methodology, as I see it, is a product of common sense applied to circumstances.

Skepticism is an important historical tool. It is the starting point of all revision of hitherto accepted history.

An historian should yield himself to his subject, become immersed in the place and period of his choice, standing apart from it now and then for a fresh view.

The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide.

America was named after a man who discovered no part of the New World. History is like that, very chancy.

No big modern war has been won without preponderant sea power; and, conversely, very few rebellions of maritime provinces have succeeded without acquiring sea power.

I’ve never heard of a man being so eager to confess to the parent of a girl he’s just ruined

It´s a metaphor: you see, you put the killing thing right between your teeth, you just don't give it the power to do it's killing.

A master of an art is someone who's been mastered by the art. They've become so one with what they teach that you can't tell the teacher from the student.

It is the large brain capacity which allows man to live as a human being, enjoy taxes, canned salmon, television, and the atomic bomb.

Listening to my regular favourites - Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and so on - I always feel, quite misguidedly, that nothing can be too bad if such beauty and brilliance exists in the world.

Im merely a dreamer, and then a writer, and my happiest moments are when I'm a reader.

The main fuel to speed the world's progress is our stock of knowledge, and the brake is our lack of imagination.

It would be awesome to know how to sing and be some sort of performer; to feed off other's people's energy is intense. The feeling they must feel would be cool. Too bad I can't sing.

Terrorism is everywhere. You think of the tribal terrorism of some African countries.

Children of those who have been incarcerated are five times more likely to go to prison than children of parents who have never been incarcerated. The sins of the father visiting the child.