“Once I discovered the endless fascination of doing the research and of doing the writing, I knew I had found what I wanted to do in my life. Every book is a new journey. I never felt I was an expert on a subject as I embarked on a project.” WritingBookWantedFoundFeltJourneySubjectsProjectsResearchEndlessExpertsFascinationNew Journey Author:David McCullough
“I feel that history is in many ways the most important of all subjects because it is about everything and because it's about who we are and how we came to be the way we are.” WayFeelsImportantSubjectsWho We Are 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.” ThinkingWayMayTurnsCoursesTeacherSubjectsTaughtFascinatingProfessorsGreat Teacher 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.” KnowsWorldWritingYearsLittlesBookProblemLastsMovingGrowsGrowing UpSubjectsSixOur FamilyChaptersLearning 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.” PeopleThinkingMindAgeSpeakSubjectsPicksOld AgeRelaxMaskDroppingRipeCandorOlder People 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
“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.” KnowsWayWritingDoeSchoolBrainClassSubjectsExpressionPaperPensMy ThoughtsEnglish Class 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.” PeopleKindLife IsLeftChanceSubjectsTablesAwfulMannersUncertaintyFlavorDisturbedBiographersTable MannersHorsing Around 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.” BookFeltJourneySubjectsProjectsExpertsNew Journey Author:David McCullough
