Quotes from Douglas Preston

And what better place to sow vengeance—to, quite literally, turn Gotham into a City of Endless Night?

When the team excavated, they uncovered the shattered ruins of a fortress, over fifteen centuries old, with massive walls and eight towers, matching the description in the Koran. They also figured out what had happened: The constant removal of water from the watering hole undermined the fortress, which one day collapsed into a sinkhole and was buried by drifting sands. The legend recorded in the Koran was based on a real event.

Beware the dog that does not bark, and the man who does not talk.

What was that line of Sophocles from Oedipus Rex? "How awful a knowledge of the truth can be.

nothing motivated a person quite as much as the desire for vengeance.

In the distance he could see the Cape May lighthouse winking, one short, one long.

He could now see inside the sneaker. It was filled with something, a pulpy red-pink with a shard of pure white projecting up from the middle. Ward froze, his mind not quite able to process what he was staring at.

Boxer altered his course subtly, as if that was the way he'd already been going, not looking up to acknowledge he had heard, letting his attitude convey the contempt he felt for the scrawny foreman. He stopped in front of the guy, staring at the man's dusty little workboots. Small feet, small dick. Slowly, he glanced up. Welcome to the world, Pee-Wee. Take a look at this.

Inside the "cells" there were no normal-looking organelles, no nuclei, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, or Golgi bodies.

An accident is only a puzzle piece that hasn't yet found its place in the picture. A good detective collects all 'accidents,' no matter how insignificant.

there was no reason why having a high iq would somehow protect you from the vicissitudes of life

Lead me into all misfortune. Only by that path can I transform the negative into the positive.

jennie confirmed my suspicions that television advertising is directed mainly at people with the iq of a pongid

If one death could delay the event by only five minutes … what flowers might therefore bloom? We were all doomed anyway.

Launches the reader into a story of science and ancient mystery that will blow your mind: [From New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston]

When all else has been discarded, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

There is more in the world than is dreamt of in your philosophy, Doctor - or in the Merck Manual.

She learned her first two signs five weeks later, on—let's see here—June 4, 1967. They were hug and me. On June 6, she spontaneously signed Hug me Jennie to Mrs. Archibald, her surrogate mother.

In the twentieth century the Mormon Church sent a number of well-funded archaeologists to Mexico and Central America to try to confirm the stories through site excavations. Although this resulted in valuable, high-quality research, it also proved difficult for the scientists themselves; facing clear evidence that disproved the Mormon view of history, some of the archaeologists ended up losing their faith, and a few of those who voiced their doubts were excommunicated.

People sometimes note the transient, ever-changing nature of the Web, but in fact the opposite is true. The Web is a gigantic tar pit that traps and fossilizes every electron that ventures within.

Most detection is simple.

She learned her first two signs five weeks later, on—let's see here—June 4, 1967. They were hug and me. On June 6, she spontaneously signed Hug me Jennie to Mrs. Archibald, her surrogate mother. Mrs. Archibald was under the impression that Jennie's first sign had been directed at her. I didn't correct that misapprehension. Why? I should suppose the reason's obvious.

Here we are, two of the world's experts on chimpanzee behavior, and we have no idea how to control this one animal." And he laughed bitterly. For the first time in my life I felt at a total loss. I had no idea what to do, no answer for him. I felt only dread for what the future might hold.

If this sounds like strange talk from a scientist—so be it. If there is one thing I have learned from a lifetime study of science, it is that the world is not a place we human beings will ever comprehend. Understand, yes; comprehend, no.