“My father ran London Films. He made films like 'The Red Shoes,' 'The Third Man.' And he had had a long career in the film business, which was bifurcated with a career in intelligence. He had to deal with gangsters, and sometimes he would take me with him. Also, I went to school with their children.” MenChildrenLongMadeSometimesSchoolFilmFatherDealsCareersRedThirdsShoesLondonRanTake MeGangstersLong CareersRed Shoes Author:Mark Helprin
“I had a period in my life, maybe a decade or so, in which I was involved in that kind of thing, associating with the elite of various segments of society. It always made me extremely uncomfortable. I couldn't wait to get out of there and change my clothes. The good part about that was getting home and changing into my regular clothes. Taking off the suit and the tie, taking off the tight shoes, and just relaxing. Being away from that stuff. It was stimulating, but I never liked it. I always felt it was a terrible, terrible burden.” KindMadeHomeFeltStuffWaitingInvolvedPeriodsTerribleClothesShoesVariousBurdenDecadesSuitsUncomfortableTiesElites Author:Mark Helprin
“World War II is the war that made our world. There's no question about that. The history of all the years in which I will spend my life, every single one, that is the seminal event of the history that we will experience.” WorldYearsMadeWarEventsWar Of The WorldsOur WorldWorld War IiWorld War I Author:Mark Helprin
“Peter Lake had no illusions about mortality. He knew that it made everyone perfectly equal, and that the treasures of the earth were movement, courage, laughter, and love. The wealthy could not buy these things. On the contrary, they were for the taking.” LoveMadeAgeEarthMovementEqualLaughterIllusionAnd LoveContraryTreasureLakesWealthyMortalityPeterLove And Laughter Book:Winter's Tale Source: Winter's Tale
“I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of thinking that real life was knowing many things and many people, living dangerously in faraway places, crossing the sea, or starting a power company on the Columbia River, a steamship line in Bolivia.” PeopleThinkingMadeRealEnoughLinesCommonMistakeCompanyBoysKnowingSeaRiversStartingReal LifeCrossingsColumbiaBoliviaFaraway Places Author:Mark Helprin
“The streets of New York and some wards of its venerable institutions were packed with people who, despite being entirely forsaken, had episodes of glory that made the career of Alexander the Great seem like a day in the life of a file clerk.” PeopleMadeSeemsCareersStreetsNew YorkGloryInstitutionsDespiteEpisodesFilesClerksForsaken Author:Mark Helprin
