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Paul Fussell

Paul Fussell Quotes

Historian

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Famous Paul Fussell Quotes

“Today the Somme is a peaceful but sullen place, unforgetting and unforgiving. ... To wander now over the fields destined to extrude their rusty metal fragments for centuries is to appreciate in the most intimate way the permanent reverberations of July, 1916. When the air is damp you can smell rusted iron everywhere, even though you see only wheat and barley.”

WayTodayAirCenturyFieldsAppreciateSmellPeacefulWanderPermanentIntimateIronMetalsDestinedFragmentsJulyWheatDampSullenUnforgivingReverberationBarley
Book:The Great War and Modern Memory
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“"Those who fought know a secret about themselves, and it is not very nice." ... They have experienced secretly and privately their natural human impulse toward sadism and brutality... Not merely did I learn to kill with a noose of piano wire put around somebody's neck from behind, but I learned to enjoy the prospect of killing that way.”

KnowsWayHumansWarEnjoyNaturalSecretBehindsNiceKillingImpulsePianoNecksWireBrutalityVery NiceSadismNooses
Author:Paul Fussell
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