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Joe Haldeman Quotes

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Joe Haldeman is an American science fiction author born on June 9, 1943. His works are known for their profound philosophical insights and unique narrative style, with notable titles including 'The Forever War'.

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All Writing Knows War Long Men Way Access Action Adages Adultery

Famous Joe Haldeman Quotes

“Ammunition will get you through times of no food, but food won’t get you through times of no ammo.”

Ammunition Times Ammo

Book:The Coming

Source: The Coming

“Our country use satellites to spy on its own people?' 'Well, the satellites go all around the world. They just don't bother to turn them off over the US.”

Spy Satellite Distopia

Book:Forever Peace

Source: Forever Peace

“This world was no place for anyone with access to another.”

Scifi Humor

Book:Worlds

Source: Worlds

“Saul's vitals were not human, but familiar: he never told me he was from another world: I never told him I was from his future.”

Science Fiction Spoiler Sestina

Author:Joe Haldeman

“The worst advice a young writer can get is "Write what you know." Imagination is more important than experience.”

Knows Writing Important Young Imagination Worst Advice Young Writers

Author:Joe Haldeman

“Big money seeks out the company of its own, for purposes of reproduction.”

Bigs Purpose Company Reproduction

Book:A Separate War and Other Stories

Source: A Separate War and Other Stories

“I have always valued quiet, and the eternity of it that I face is no more dreadful than the eternity of quiet that preceded my birth.”

Faces Birth Quiet Eternity

Book:A Separate War and Other Stories

Source: A Separate War and Other Stories

“One thing most of us agree on is that the universe exists (people who deny that usually follow some trade other than science), so if some theoretical particle interaction would lead ultimately to the nonexistence of the universe, then you can save a lot of electricity by not trying to demonstrate it.”

People Ifs Trying Universe One Thing Agree Trade Deny Interaction Electricity Particles Theoretical

Book:Forever Peace

Source: Forever Peace

“Maybe war is an inevitable product of human nature. Maybe to get rid of war, we have to become something other than human.”

Humans War Human Nature Products Inevitable

Book:Forever Peace

Source: Forever Peace

“Rationalism doesn't require "belief," only observation. The real, measurable world doesn't care what you believe.”

World Believe Real Care Belief Observation Rationalism

Book:The Accidental Time Machine

Source: The Accidental Time Machine

“All experience is memory, and so everything you write about is from memory-unless you're writing about typing.”

Writing Memories Typing

Author:Joe Haldeman

“Writer's block? Don't worry about it. Either it goes away or you die.”

Dies Worry Block Writer's Block

Author:Joe Haldeman

“Don't 'write what you know.' Make up something new!”

Knows Writing Something New

Author:Joe Haldeman

“[Spielberg and I] had a disagreement over what God was....He thought God was Stephen Spielberg, but that thought had never occurred to me.”

Disagreement

Author:Joe Haldeman

“There's no such thing as writing about the future. The future hasn't happened yet.”

Writing Happened

Author:Joe Haldeman

“Bad books on writing tell you to "WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW", a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery.”

Knows Writing Book Reason Novel Professors Contemplating Mediocre Adultery Solemn Adages

Author:Joe Haldeman

“Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man.”

Men Way Shows Silent Eight Tonight

Book:The Forever War

Source: The Forever War

“The 1143-year-long war hand begun on false pretenses and only because the two races were unable to communicate. Once they could talk, the first question was 'Why did you start this thing?' and the answer was 'Me?”

Years Firsts Long Two War Hands Answers Race Communicate Pretense

Author:Joe Haldeman

“Doctors don’t seem to realize that most of us are perfectly content not having to visualize ourselves as animated bags of skin filled with obscene glop.”

Seems Realizing Doctors Skins Filled Bags Animated Obscene

Book:The Forever War

Source: The Forever War

“One cannot make command decisions simply by assessing the tactical situation and going ahead with whatever course of action will do the most harm to the enemy with a minimum of death and damage to your own men and materiel. Modern warfare has become very complex, especially during the last century. Wars are won not by a simple series of battles won, but by a complex interrelationship among military victory, economic pressures, logistic maneuvering, access to the enemy’s information, political postures—dozens, literally dozens of factors.”

“A good sign that an army has been around too long is that it starts getting top-heavy with officers.”

Long Has Beens Army Heavy Officers

Book:The Forever War

Source: The Forever War

“Relativity propped it up, at least gave it the illusion of being there…the way all reality becomes illusory and observer-oriented when you study general relativity. Or Buddhism. Or get drafted.”

Way Reality Study Buddhism Illusion Observers Being There Relativity Illusory General Relativity

Book:The Forever War

Source: The Forever War

About the Author

Born: June 9, 1943
Known for: Author
Quotes: 22

Books & Sources

The Forever WarRelated source material

Forever PeaceRelated source material

A Separate War and Other StoriesRelated source material

The Accidental Time MachineRelated source material

The ComingRelated source material

WorldsRelated source material

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