Quotes from David Talbot

Sister Vicious Power Hungry Bitch," Boom Boom replied, taking the opportunity to pin a "Dump Dianne" campaign pin on her blouse as news photographers' snapped away.

You'd better find a way to laugh at life, because it will certainly make you cry.

One of the most trying experiences an individual can go through is the period of doubt, of soul-searching, to determine whether to fight the battle or fly from it," Nixon wrote in Six Crises. "It is in such a period that almost unbearable tensions build up, tensions that can be relieved only by taking action, one way or the other. And significantly, it is this period of crisis conduct that separates the leaders from the followers.

Peace and love no longer held dominion in San Francisco, Gaskin decided. "The information we got in San Francisco was that folks were buying into violence in a wholesale lot," he said in explaining his flock's mass departure. His apocalyptic vision extended to American cities in general. They were falling into brutishness and depravity. And the only solution, according to Gaskin, was to withdraw from their destructive vortex and lead a simple, communal life in the country.

was Himmler whom the Führer had entrusted with the Final Solution, their breathtaking plan to wipe the Jewish people from the face of the earth. It was Himmler who had the nerve to justify this plan, standing before his SS generals in October 1943 and assuring them that they had "the moral right to destroy this people which wanted to destroy us," to pile up their "corpses side by side" in monuments to the Reich's power.

graying spymaster

Sometimes it's necessary to shame the city's business class, the columnist later remarked, to remind them that a city like San Francisco is more than just a real estate opportunity—it's "a precious, special, fragile place.

pages often reflected the noxious views of the group's

meeting, Morales

was grappling with someone who had been a junior ensign on a PT boat in the same seas—and the blustery Navy commander was appalled to find himself in such an ignominious position.

Boys dream of war. But men can dream of peace.

The San Francisco police force was deeply implicated in the murders of Moscone and Milk. Dan White was not carrying out SFPD orders that morning in city hall, but he was carrying out the department's will. He was no longer on the force, but he was one of them: their star ballplayer, their political representative, their brother. He knew all about the cops' murderous feelings toward the city's liberal leadership. He felt the same way. They had the will, he had the willpower.

We cannot forget [for example] that one of the big war factories in Germany was the Opel Company which was owned and financed by the General Motors Corporation, a company in which Secretary Stettinius had a great interest.

The biggest electric company in Germany was owned and financed by the General Electric Company of New York.

Robert Kennedy was inspired to take on organized crime by watching the landmark movie On the Waterfront.

The first thing I am going to tell my successor is, don't trust the military men – even on military matters." JFK

There was always a dark shadow around the San Francisco rainbow. From the very beginning, violence, desperation, and fear stalked the streets of the Haight, side by side with the euphoria. "When I hear about the Summer of Love, I say, 'Where was that?'" remarked Lewis. "It was there, but always lurking below was this seething hatred and fear from Vietnam and the Cold War. There was always this feeling that we were going to die.

What did Mary Ann tell Dan after she heard about the shootings? 'No, Dan, I said to get milk and macaroni, not Milk and Moscone.

It was like somebody had sprinkled fairy dust on the whole city," said Cheryl Bertelli, one of Maud's delirious patrons.

The city was still known for its enchantments, but it would soon become notorious for its terrors.

Because if you left the straights to handle the party, it just wasn't going to happen.

One day, Lisa Capaldini, a young intern in the AIDS ward, was saying good-bye to a patient named Gordon with whom she had grown close. Gordon was about to be discharged, but he was blind and dying, and Capaldini knew that she would never see him again. While she hovered over his bed, the intern began to cry. "And I thought, 'That's okay, he won't know.' Then I realized that my tears were dropping on his face. And I thought, 'Busted.

Gay nightclub diva Sharon McNight rolled her piano into the ward and belted out songs like "Stand By Your Man" as the patients sipped champagne and screamed encouragement.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence began working like real nuns, raising money for the sick at church bingos and organizing a charity dog show featuring Shirley MacLaine as emcee.