“How can we know who we are and where we are going if we don't know anything about where we have come from and what we have been through, the courage shown, the costs paid, to be where we are?” IfsKnowsHas BeensCostPaidWho We Are Book:Brave Companions Source: Brave Companions
“I think the public library system is one of the most amazing American institutions. Free for everybody. If you ever get the blues about the status of American culture there are still more public libraries than there are McDonald's. During the worst of the Depression not one public library closed their doors.” IfsThinkingStillsCultureDoorsWorstInstitutionsLibraryAmerican CultureMcdonaldsMost AmazingPublic Library Author:David McCullough
“I feel very strongly that history is about everything. It isn't just about politics or the military or social issues. If art, music, engineering, science, medicine, finance, the world of architecture and technology - if those are left out, then you're not getting a full sense of the human condition. History is human and we human beings are involved in all kinds of things and that's part of our humanity.” IfsWorldFeelsHumansKindArtHumanityLeftSocialHuman BeingsTechnologyIssuesConditionsMilitaryInvolvedMedicineArchitectureAll KindsFinanceVery StrongHuman ConditionEngineeringSocial IssuesLeft OutArt Music Author:David McCullough
“History isn't just what happened, but what happened to whom and why and what would have been different if the cast of characters had been different.” IfsHas BeensDifferentCharacterHappenedCasts 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.” IfsMeanPersonsPresidentInterestingFailingWorstPicksFlawsRankingGreat PresidentsInteresting Life 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.” PeopleIfsGivingBelieveMeanStillsIdeasDoneChanceWillingThirdsForgivingSorryCharacteristicsDislikeHypocrite 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.” IfsLove IsRewardsDoing YouRecompense 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.” PeopleIfsFeelsWritingTryingWellsHeartSaidDiesWrittenReaderMy HeartTediousWell 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.” IfsWantFeelsWritingLongBookIdeasEnoughPayCalling 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.” IfsThinkingSchoolTeacherSubjectsTaught 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.” IfsAttitudeTeacherStudentsMaterialsCommittedExcitedBoredEnthusiastic 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.” IfsKnowsShouldStoriesSufferingKnow HowEffectsDrawsObviousWho We AreAmnesiaDetrimental 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.” IfsKnowsDifferentRealityPastKnow HowArgumentDifferent TimesPerceived Reality Author:David McCullough
“You can't be a full participant in our democracy if you don't know our history.” IfsKnowsDemocracyParticipants Author:David McCullough
“Any nation that expects to be ignorant and free," Jefferson said, "expects what never was and never will be." And if the gap between the educated and the uneducated in America continues to grow as it is in our time, as fast as or faster than the gap between the rich and the poor, the gap between the educated and the uneducated is going to be of greater consequence and the more serious threat to our way of life. We must not, by any means, misunderstand that.” IfsWayMeanSaidAmericaNationsGrowsPoorRichGreaterSeriousConsequenceThreatIgnorantEducatedFasterOur TimeGapsUneducated Author:David McCullough
“If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.” IfsStillsCountryStatesRememberCultureLibraryAmerican CultureMcdonaldsPublic Library Author:David McCullough
“If everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless.” IfsSpecialMeaninglessTrophies Author:David McCullough
“I think it's important to remember that these men are not perfect. If they were marble gods, what they did wouldn't be so admirable. The more we see the founders as humans the more we can understand them.” IfsThinkingMenHumansImportantRememberPerfectFoundersMarbleAdmirableNot Perfect Author:David McCullough
“Just imagine if in his inaugural address John F. Kennedy had said, 'Ask not what your country can, you know, do for you, but what you can, like, do for your country actually.” IfsKnowsSaidCountryAsksImagineAddressesInauguralInaugural Address Author:David McCullough
“Courage is contagious. If a leader shows courage, others get the idea.” IfsIdeasShowsLeaderContagious Author:David McCullough
“You can't love what you don't know much about. You can't convince, stimulate, hold the attention, teach, if you don't know what you're talking about.” IfsKnowsAttentionTalkingKnowledgeTeachConvince Author:David McCullough
“People often ask me if I'm working on a book. That's not how I feel. I feel like I work in a book. It's like putting myself under a spell. And this spell, if you will, is so real to me that if I have to leave my work for a few days, I have to work myself back into the spell when I come back. It's almost like hypnosis.” PeopleIfsFeelsBookRealAsksAsk MeSpellsHypnosis Author:David McCullough
“My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read. If I can make it clear and interesting and compelling to me, then I hope maybe it will be for the reader.” IfsWritingTryingKindI CanBookAnswersInterestingClearReaderCompellingShorthand Author:David McCullough
