David McCullough Quotes

“You have to get inside the people you are writing about. You have to go below the surface. And that's to a very large degree what all writers are doing - they're trying to get below the surface. Whether it's in fiction or poetry or writing history and biography. Some people make that possible because they write wonderful letters and diaries. And you have to sort of go where the material is.”

People Writing Trying Fiction Wonderful Materials Degrees Letters Surface Biographies Diaries Below The Surface Writing History

Author:David McCullough

“I don't pick my presidents because they were great presidents. I'm not much interested in ranking presidents and who is the best and who is the worst. I am much more inclined to be interested in them if they had an interesting life and if they were a complete person - and by that I mean they also had flaws and failings.”

Ifs Mean Persons President Interesting Failing Worst Picks Flaws Ranking Great Presidents Interesting Life

Author:David McCullough

“The most interesting people are never perfect.”

People Perfect Interesting Most Interesting

Author:David McCullough

“We still dislike hypocrites. It's a very American characteristic. We still like people who have ideas and who are willing to stand up for what they believe in. We're very forgiving of failures and very willing to give people a second and third chance if they mean to do better and are sorry for what they've done.”

People Ifs Giving Believe Mean Stills Ideas Done Chance Willing Thirds Forgiving Sorry Characteristics Dislike Hypocrite

Author:David McCullough

“Read. Read. Read. Read. Read great books. Read poetry, history, biography. Read the novels that have stood the test of time. And read closely.”

Book Novel Tests Biographies Great Book Test Of Time

Author:David McCullough

“Your education never stops and college is just the beginning. You come out of college with a huge advantage in that you've ideally and more times than not you've come out with a love of learning and that's what matters above all.”

Matter College Huge Advantage More Time What Matters Love Of Learning

Author:David McCullough

“Love of learning will never let you down. You can have a quest for money, you can have a quest for power, you can have a quest for fame and they are sometimes gratifying and sometimes self-destructive. The love of learning is always gratifying and never self-destructive. The more educated, the more cultivated a society becomes, better off is everybody.”

Self Sometimes Fame Educated Destructive Quests Better Off Self Destructive Love Of Learning

Author:David McCullough

“When you start to write, things begin to come into focus in a way they don't when you're not writing. It's a very good way to find out how much you don't know because you learn specifically what you need to know that you don't know at the moment by writing.”

Knows Way Needs Writing Moments Focus Very Good Good Way

Author:David McCullough

“I write on the typewriter. I like it because I like the feeling of making something with my hands. I like pressing the key and a letter comes up and is printed on a piece of paper. I can understand that.”

Writing I Can Feelings Hands Pieces Keys Paper Letters Come Up Printed Typewriters

Author:David McCullough

“Take the teacher not the course. Find out who the great professors are - the great teachers - and take their courses because a subject that you may not think you're interested in may turn out to be infinitely fascinating because of the way it's taught.”

Thinking Way May Turns Courses Teacher Subjects Taught Fascinating Professors Great Teacher

Author:David McCullough

“Why limit yourself to the experience of your own relatively brief time on earth, according to your biological clock, when the whole realm of the human experience reaching back infinitely far is available to you?”

Humans Whole Earth Limits Available Clock Realms Reaching Human Experience Time On Earth Biological Clock Reaching Back

Author:David McCullough

“To shut yourself from history is to shut yourself off from say music or painting or the theatre, literature for the rest of your life. It would be to cheat yourself of the pleasures of life.”

Would Be Literature Pleasure Painting Theatre Cheat Rest Of Your Life Pleasures Of Life

Author:David McCullough

“Find something to do that you love because then the work itself is always the reward not the recompense. And if you love what you're doing you probably do better at it than doing something you don't love and therefore you'll be compensated appropriately.”

Ifs Love Is Rewards Doing You Recompense

Author:David McCullough

“I think that a good education ought to be in part the idea that ease and joy are not synonymous. Some of the most fulfilling pleasures of life are to be found in work - found in work you love to do, work you want to do, work that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning.”

Thinking Want Ideas Joy Found Pleasure Morning Ought Bed Ease Fulfilling Good Education Pleasures Of Life Work You Love

Author:David McCullough

“I want people to see that all-important time in a different way-in the way it was. For of a number of reasons, including the absence of photographs, we tend to see the men and women of the Revolution as not quite real. And we have far too little sense of what they suffered.”

People Men Way Want Littles Important Different Real Reason Numbers He Man Revolution Men And Women Including Photograph Absence Different Ways

Author:David McCullough

“Unlike the people you see in Mathew Brady's photographs from the Civil War, the men and women of the Revolution seem more like characters in a costume pageant. And it's a pageant in which the performers are all handsome as stage actors, with uniforms and dress that are always costume perfect.”

People Men War Character Seems Actors Perfect Stage He Man Revolution Men And Women Dresses Photograph Civil War Performers Uniforms Costumes Handsome Pageant Brady Stage Actors

Author:David McCullough

“There are people who are trying to write history for the general reader who can be quite tedious. That said, I do feel in my heart of hearts that if history isn't well written, it isn't going to be read, and if it isn't read it's going to die.”

People Ifs Feels Writing Trying Wells Heart Said Dies Written Reader My Heart Tedious Well Written

Author:David McCullough

“I feel that what I do is a calling. I would pay to do what I do if I had to. I will never live long enough to do the work I want to do: the books I would like to write, the ideas I would like to explore.”

Ifs Want Feels Writing Long Book Ideas Enough Pay Calling

Author:David McCullough

“I could not do what I do without the kindness, consideration, resourcefulness and work of librarians, particularly in public libraries... What started me writing history happened because of some curiosity that I had about some photographs I'd seen in the Library of Congress.”

Writing Kindness Happened Curiosity Library Photograph Congress Consideration Librarian Public Library Resourcefulness Writing History

Author:David McCullough

“There are innumerable writing problems in an extended work. One book took a little more than six years. You, the writer, change in six years. The life around you changes. Your family changes. They grow up. They move away. The world is changing. You're also learning more about the subject. By the time you're writing the last chapters of the book, you know much more than you did when you started at the beginning.”

Knows World Writing Years Littles Book Problem Lasts Moving Grows Growing Up Subjects Six Our Family Chapters Learning More

Author:David McCullough

“I think it's best to pick a biographical subject who lives to a ripe old age. Older people tend to relax and speak their minds. They're dropping some of the masks that they've been wearing. There's a candor.”

People Thinking Mind Age Speak Subjects Picks Old Age Relax Mask Dropping Ripe Candor Older People

Author:David McCullough

“We are raising a generation of young Americans who are, to a very large degree, historically illiterate. It's not their faults. There's no problem about enlisting their interest in history. None. The problem is the teachers so often have no history in their background.”

Problem Young Interest Teacher Generations Degrees Faults Backgrounds No Problem Illiterate Enlisting

Author:David McCullough

“If we think back through our own lives, the subjects that you liked best in school almost certainly were taught by the teachers you liked best. And the teacher you liked best was the teacher who cared about the subject she taught.”

Ifs Thinking School Teacher Subjects Taught

Author:David McCullough

“If the attitude of the teacher toward the material is positive, enthusiastic, committed and excited, the students get that. If the teacher is bored, students get that and they get bored, quickly, instinctively.”

Ifs Attitude Teacher Students Materials Committed Excited Bored Enthusiastic

Author:David McCullough

“Since September 11, it seems to me that never in our lifetime, except possibly in the early stages of World War II, has it been clearer that we have as a source of strength, a source of direction, a source of inspiration - our story.”

World War Stories Inspiration Seems Stage Source Lifetime War Of The Worlds World War Ii World War I September September 11 Source Of Inspiration Source Of Strength

Author:David McCullough

“Yes, this is a dangerous time. Yes, this is a time full of shadows and fear. But we have been through worse before and we have faced more difficult days before. We have shown courage and determination, and skillful and inventive and courageous and committed responses to crisis before.”

Has Beens Difficult Dangerous Shadow Determination Crisis Response Committed Courageous Skillful Courage And Determination Difficult Days

Author:David McCullough

“We should draw on our story, we should draw on our history. If we don't know who we are, if we don't know how we became what we are, we're going to start suffering from all the obvious detrimental effects of amnesia.”

Ifs Knows Should Stories Suffering Know How Effects Draws Obvious Who We Are Amnesia Detrimental

Author:David McCullough

“America faces an enemy who believes in enforced ignorance. And all that we stand for is the open mind, the generous spirit, the ideal of tolerance, freedom, education, opportunity.”

Mind Believe America Faces Spirit Opportunity Enemy Ignorance Ideals Tolerance Generous Open Mind Generous Spirit

Author:David McCullough

“You have to have wisdom and knowledge as well as virtue to preserve your rights and liberties.”

Wells Liberty Virtue Rights Preserves Knowledge And Wisdom

Author:David McCullough

“Read somewhat in the English poets every day. You will find them elegant, entertaining and constructive companions through your whole life.”

Whole Poet Whole Life Companion Entertaining Elegant Constructive

Book:David McCullough American History E-book Box Set: John Adams, 1776, Truman, The Course of Human Events

Source: David McCullough American History E-book Box Set: John Adams, 1776, Truman, The Course of Human Events

“One of the regrets of my life is that I did not study Latin. I'm absolutely convinced, the more I understand these eighteenth-century people, that it was that grounding in Greek and Latin that gave them their sense of the classic virtues: the classic ideals of honor, virtue, the good society, and their historic examples of what they could try to live up to.”

People Trying Life Is Virtue Study Century Example Regret Honor Ideals Convinced Greek Classic Latin Historic Grounding

Author:David McCullough

“Little children can learn anything, just as they can learn a foreign language. The mind is so absorbent then. There ought to be a real program to educate teachers who want to teach grade school children about history.”

Want Mind Children Littles Real School Language Teach Teacher Ought Program Grades Educate Foreign Language Grades In School

Author:David McCullough

“I'm absolutely positive it's in our human nature to want to know about the past. The two most popular movies of all time, while not historically accurate, are about core historic events: 'Gone With the Wind' and 'Titanic.'”

Knows Want Humans Two Past Gone Events Human Nature Wind Core All Time Accurate Historic Popular Movie

Author:David McCullough

“There is a human longing to go back to other times. We all know how when we were children we asked our parents, "What was it like when you were a kid?" I think it probably has something to do with our survival as a species.”

Thinking Knows Humans Children Kids Parent Know How Survival Longing Species

Author:David McCullough

“My strong feeling is that we must learn more about how we learn. I'm convinced that we learn by struggling to find the solution to a problem on our own with some guidance, but getting in and getting our hands dirty and working it.”

Feelings Problem Hands Strong Struggle Solutions Convinced Dirty Guidance Working It Solution To A Problem Strong Feeling

Author:David McCullough

“I am adamant that we must not cut back on funding of the teaching of the arts in the schools: music, painting, theater, dance, all of it. The great thing about the arts is that the only way you learn how to do it is by doing it.”

Way Art School Cutting Teaching Painting Art Is Theater Great Things Funding Adamant

Author:David McCullough

“You can't learn to play the piano without playing the piano, you can't learn to write without writing, and, in many ways, you can't learn to think without thinking. Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard.”

Thinking Way Writing Wells Hard Play Piano

Author:David McCullough

“We all know the old expression, "I'll work my thoughts out on paper." There's something about the pen that focuses the brain in a way that nothing else does. That is why we must have more writing in the schools, more writing in all subjects, not just in English classes.”

Knows Way Writing Doe School Brain Class Subjects Expression Paper Pens My Thoughts English Class

Author:David McCullough

“The talent, including the talent for history - and I do think there are people who just have a talent for it, the way you have a talent for public speaking or music or whatever - it shouldn't be allowed to lie dormant. It should be brought alive.”

People Thinking Way Should Lying Alive Talent Including Public Speaking Dormant

Author:David McCullough

“You can make the argument that there's no such thing as the past. Nobody lived in the past. They lived in the present. It is their present, not our present, and they don't know how it's going to come out. They weren't just like we are because they lived in that very different time. You can't understand them if you don't understand how they perceived reality.”

Ifs Knows Different Reality Past Know How Argument Different Times Perceived Reality

Author:David McCullough

“One of the things about the arts that is so important is that in the arts you discover the only way to learn how to do it is by doing it. You can't write by reading a book about it. The only way to learn how to write a book is to sit down and try to write a book”

Way Writing Trying Art Important Book Reading Down And

Author:David McCullough

“History is about life. It's awful when the life is squeezed out of it and there's no flavor left, no uncertainties, no horsing around. It always disturbed me how many biographers never gave their subjects a chance to eat. You can tell a lot about people by how they eat, what they eat, and what kind of table manners they have.”

People Kind Life Is Left Chance Subjects Tables Awful Manners Uncertainty Flavor Disturbed Biographers Table Manners Horsing Around

Author:David McCullough

“Each generation, we peel back biases that have blinded those before us. The more we know about the past enables us to ask richer and more provocative questions about who we are today.”

Knows Today Past Asks Generations Who We Are Provocative Blinded

Author:David McCullough

“I often think of that when I hear people say that they haven't time to read.”

People Thinking Havens

Author:David McCullough

“Real success is finding your life work in the work that you love. That's it. Don't worry about making a living, don't worry about popularity or fame. Make what you do ... count more than what you own.”

Real Worry Fame Findings Popularity Making A Living Real Success

Author:David McCullough

“We are all what we are, in large degree, because of others who have helped, coached, taught, counseled, who set a standard by example, who've taken an interest in our interests, opened doors, opened our minds, helped us see, who gave encouragement when we needed it, who reprimanded or prodded when we needed it, and at critical moments, inspired.”

Mind Moments Interest Taken Doors Example Taught Needed Degrees Standards Encouragement Inspired Critical Critical Moments Opened Doors

Author:David McCullough

“Nothing ever invented can you a bigger life than a book.”

Book Bigger

Author:David McCullough

“Home is really where education does begin.”

Doe Home

Author:David McCullough

“Every book is a new journey. I never felt I was an expert on a subject as I embarked on a project.”

Book Felt Journey Subjects Projects Experts New Journey

Author:David McCullough

“History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”

Way History Insight Guides Who We Are Navigation Great History Perilous Times

Author:David McCullough

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