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Quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin

“It took me five years on Lyndon Johnson, ten years on the Kennedys, six years on the Roosevelts. Inevitably, you get shaped by the people that you're thinking about during that period of time.”

Quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Author

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin is an accomplished American historian and author, renowned for her biographies of U.S. presidents. Born on January 4, 1943, she has made significant contributions to the field of history through her in-depth research and engaging storytelling. more

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“I think with Lyndon Johnson, the most important thing I learned was that he never had the sense of security that comes from inside. It always depended on other people making him feel good about himself, which meant that he was always beholden, continually needing to succeed. He could never stop. There was such a restlessness in him.”

People Thinking Feels Important Security Succeed Important Things Feel Good Johnson Restlessness

Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“I think some people who go into public life, if they go in needing the applause of thousands, they're never going to work out successfully in the end, because they don't know who they are apart from the crowds.”

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Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“You can be enormously effective for a period of time, because it's almost like there's an engine in you that needs to keep going, and you have a greater drive than other people - who may be more happy and balanced in life - because you have to keep going out and proving yourself over and over again.”

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Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“I think, as a president, you have to want respect. You can't look for love from the American people. You have to just do what you think is right. Some people will hate you, but others, in the long run, will respect you for what you've done.”

People Thinking Want Looks Long Done Running Hate President Long Runs Hate You Looking For Love

Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“What interested me most about the Kennedys was the family situation. Somehow, they had created this family that lasted over time, they had a sense of connection to one another. Especially now, when people are spread all over the country and they don't see grandparents and parents, this family bonded together.”

People Country Together Parent Situation Connections Spread Grandparent

Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“Many kids think unless they go to one of these great Ivy League schools, which I was lucky enough to go to later, that they won't get the same kind of learning. But I learned just the opposite lesson; that my best teachers were not at Harvard University.”

Thinking Kind Enough Kids School Teacher Lessons Lucky Opposites University League Harvard Ivy Best Teacher Ivy League Harvard University Ivy League Schools

Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“I've chosen to be a commentator and an analyzer of politics, rather than an actual doer of it. I think it could have gone the other way, but I'm not sorry that it didn't, because this made it easier to be home with my kids and to spend time with them. Writing you can do right in your house. You don't have to go anywhere.”

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Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“I think the most important thing I wanted to say at various times to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt was that it seemed so sad to me that - I really believe they loved each other and had a great deal of affection - but because of that early hurt in their marriage, there was a certain kind of distance from then on, until their deaths actually. So at times, I just wanted to push them together and say, "Come on, you guys! I know you love each other. This is crazy!"”

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Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin

“The White House is such an extraordinary, simple, beautiful place. It's an extraordinary piece of our history, because it is the one thing that binds our country together. We don't have a king obviously, but we have this president, and the fact that almost all of them have lived in the same place, and so much history took place in those rooms. You can't help but feel awe-inspired by being there.”

“There are 20,000 million books I could have to read, but I can pick the ones and know that I'm learning something that I didn't know before. That's the glory of writing. It's not even so much the writing, it's what you learn - especially history - because so much of it is research.”

Knows Writing I Can Book Millions Glory Research Picks

Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin