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James A. Michener

James A. Michener Quotes

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Famous James A. Michener Quotes

“I wish I could tell you about the South Pacific. The way it actually was. The endless ocean. The infinite specks of coral we called islands. Coconut palms nodding gracefully toward the ocean. Reefs upon which waves broke into spray, and inner lagoons, lovely beyond description. I wish I could tell you about the sweating jungle, the full moon rising behind the volcanoes, and the waiting. The waiting. The timeless, repetitive waiting.”

WayWishWaitingBehindsMoonOceanInfiniteSouthWaveLovelyEndlessBrokeIslandsRisingDescriptionTimelessPalmsJunglePacificSprayVolcanoesRepetitiveSpecksFull MoonReefsSweatingNoddingCoconutsLagoons
Author:James A. Michener
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“. . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured [England] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that if they were destroyed . . . old jobs and old ways of life could be preserved . . . At certain times in his life each man is tempted to become a Luddite, for there is always something he would like to go back to. But to be against all change-against change in the abstract-is folly.”

IfsMenWayLifeJobsCertainCenturyTheoryMachinesEnglandDestroyedAbstractFollyTempted19th CenturyWeavingOld WaysOld Job
Author:James A. Michener
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“We risk great peril if we kill off this spirit of adventure, for we cannot predict how and in what seemingly unrelated fields it will manifest itself. A nation that loses its forward thrust is in danger, and one of the most effective ways to retain that thrust is to keep exploring possibilities. The sense of exploration is intimately bound up with human resolve, and for a nation to believe that it is still committed to a forward motion is to ensure its continuance.”

IfsWayBelieveHumansStillsSpiritNationsLosesRiskDangerFieldsPossibilityAdventureFutureBoundsCommittedResolveExplorationManifestExploringPredictionsPerilThrustContinuanceSpirit Of AdventureForward Motion
Author:James A. Michener
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