Quotes from Erik Larson

banquet of glimpses—

She lapsed into "melancholia," a sweet name for depression.

There were so many items on the menu that Cunard felt obliged to print a separate sheet with suggested combinations, lest one starve from befuddlement.

OF THE LUSITANIA'S 1,959 PASSENGERS AND CREW, only 764 survived; the total of deaths was 1,195. The 3 German stowaways brought the total to 1,198. Of 33 infants aboard, only 6 survived. Over 600 passengers were never found. Among the dead were 123 Americans.

we seek no territorial gains, we seek only the right of man to be free; we seek his right to worship his God, to lead his life in his own way, secure from persecution. As

confidence men

But far more than France was at stake, he added. He raised the specter of Britain, too, succumbing to Hitler's influence and warned that a new and pro-German government might then replace his own. "If we go down you may have a United States of Europe under the Nazi command far more numerous, far stronger, far better armed than the New World.

In which building is the pope?" one woman asked. She was overheard by writer Teresa Dean, who wrote a daily column from the fair. "The pope is not here, madame," the guard said. "Where is he?" "In Italy, Europe, madame." The woman frowned. "Which way is that?" Convinced now that the woman was joking, the guard cheerfully quipped, "Three blocks under the lagoon." She said, "How do I get there?

I went to Harvard for examination with two men not as well prepared as I. Both passed easily, and I flunked, having sat through two or three examinations without being able to write a word. Burnham said. Larson wrote, The same happened at Yale, Both schools turned him down. He never forgot it.

It's a grand life if we don't weaken!'

Britain had more than twice as many submarines as Germany but used them mainly for coastal defense, not to stop merchant ships.)

Dodd acknowledged Congress's reluctance to become entangled abroad but added, I do, however, think facts count; even if we hate them.

French editor Octave Uzanne called it "that Gordian city, so excessive, so satanic."27 Paul Lindau, an author and publisher, described it as "a gigantic peepshow of utter horror, but extraordinarily to the point."28

Five months after the disaster, Charles Lauriat wrote a book about his experience, entitled The Lusitania's Last Voyage

Straw Hat Day," Saturday, May 1, when a man could at last break out his summer hats. Men followed this rule.

It is," she wrote, "an unfortunate trait in the human character to assail or asperse others engaged in the performance of humanitarian acts.

These were men, wrote Lincoln Steffens, "who will not have an office unless it is up where the air is cool and fresh, the outlook broad and beautiful, and where there is silence in the heart of business.

History is full of lessons about the redemption of Lost Causes.

Time lost can never be recovered," he said, "and this should be written in flaming letters everywhere.

Winston had grave concerns, and that she regretted letting the romance progress to this point without expressing their doubts and fears. This was only partly true: In fact, Churchill, preoccupied with war matters, had few concerns about the engagement and was more than content to let Clementine manage the situation. Thus far that weekend, his main interests had

He wrote: "Most of these woolly phrases are mere padding, which can be left out altogether, or replaced by a single word. Let us not shrink from using the short expressive phrase, even if it is conversational.

Galveston was too pretty, too progressive, too prosperous—entirely too hopeful—to be true.

He wrote: "Most of these woolly phrases are mere padding, which can be left out altogether, or replaced by a single word. Let us not shrink from using the short expressive phrase, even if it is conversational." The resulting prose, he wrote, "may at first seem rough as compared with the flat surface of officialese jargon. But the saving of time will be great, while the discipline of setting out the real points concisely will prove an aid to clear thinking.

Yet gun dealers sell guns in America the way Rite Aid sells toothpaste, denying at every step of the way the true nature of the products they sell and absolving themselves of any and all responsibility for their role in the resulting mayhem.