Quotes from Brad Thor

The rain forests of the Congo Basin contained so much water that they caused their own weather system, and were known as the "Lungs of Africa.

To tell you the truth, Father, I don't think God has a favorite football team, or a favorite religion.

If there's one lesson I've learned, it's that life is all about change, and stress comes from avoiding change.

Revenge was a bitter medicine. It didn't cure suffering. It didn't provide closure. It only hollowed you out further.

What's this bit in Chinese that keeps popping up?" he said. "XuÄ• Lóng?" "It's the codename for the operation." "What does it mean?" "XuÄ• Lóng is a mythical Chinese creature said to bring darkness, cold, and death." "What's the translation?" "In English, it would be called a snow dragon.

He carried no electronics. No laptop, no cell phone, no walkie-talkie. He carried no ID. Beside his large-caliber Glock, spare magazines, and a knife, there was nothing on his person that could connect him to anything, anyone, or anywhere. That was how professionals worked.

PC or not, Middle Eastern groups, including Abu Nidal's, are not tacticians. They walk into nightclubs strapped with explosives, plant car bombs, spray crowded markets with machine-gun fire, and fly hijacked planes full of fuel into buildings. Plain and simple, they're cowards. They won't confront anyone on a one-to-one basis. They don't have the savvy or the courage to do in-your-face operations.

speed of the enormous vessel. There was no other way to do this. It had to be tonight. They might wait weeks for

None of the sheep ever wanted a sheepdog around until one of them spotted a wolf. By then, it was often too late.

Harvath had met and worked with over his years in both the SEALs and the Secret Service. Harvath stood up and started moving toward the front of the cabin.

Do not fear failure. Do more than is required of you. Make your plans fit the circumstances. There is only one type of discipline—perfect discipline.

Bullshit. I don't know how, but somehow you followed us." "I will admit, Agent Harvath, that when you logged on to the web site I gave you for the surveillance photos of Marcel

Leadership was not only about taking charge, it was also about giving your team everything they needed to succeed, and then getting out of their way. It meant knowing when you should be the first person charging through a door and when you should stand down and let someone else do it. Harvath

Bismillah al rahman al Rahim," he replied. In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate. Harvath knew the phrase. Every chapter in the Quran, except for the ninth, began with it. "Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illallah," he continued. "Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah." I bear witness that there is no god except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

The truth was, when it came to Islam, it had been violent since its inception. Its clearly stated goal was worldwide conquest. It was a mandate handed down in all of its religious texts. And while Harvath believed there were peaceful and moderate Muslims, he knew from studying the religion that there was no such thing as peaceful and moderate Islam.

As a living organism, the Federal Government's number one job was self-preservation. Any threat to its existence had to be dealt with.

The best kind of nation was one where the government feared the people. When the government feared the people there was liberty. When the people feared the government, there was tyranny.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, 'Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.

Snyder had scaled the rocky heights of the American political landscape by adhering to a simple mantra: Do unto others before they do unto you.

there were just three categories of human beings—sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves. To those three categories, Harvath had added another—wolf hunters. That was what the world needed more of. The sheep had only two speeds—graze and stampede. They needed sheepdogs to keep them safe in case of an attack by the wolves. Wolf hunters, though, were needed to find and kill the wolves, whenever possible, before they attacked.

They had one mantra, and it came straight from the founder of the OSS, Wild Bill Donovan. If you fall, fall forward

That wasn't why he had accepted this job. He had accepted it because someone needed to be willing to stand up and do the right thing for the nation, no matter what the personal cost.

Often the mere suggestion of impropriety is enough to ruin someone. — Scot Harvath

The only easy day was yesterday