Quotes from Evan Thomas

With grace and a keen appreciation of human nature, Nicholas Thompson has written a revealing, moving history of the Cold War through two fascinating men.

I mean, in a way, Obama's standing above the country, above — above the world, he's sort of God.

We're understanding what Obama is. He is the great teacher. He is this guy that stands above everybody. There's some condescension in it, but he stands above everybody and says, 'Now, listen. You people have to stop blaming each other unreasonably. You have to get along here and I am going to show you the way.' It is a pretty brave role in many ways.

Always do what you're afraid to do"-Robert F. Kennedy

insults were exchanged, but never conversation" (p.17).

Roosevelt and Lodge operated by a fairly straightforward and sensible credo: reform without power is meaningless, and power without scruple is corrupt.

O'CONNOR WAS THE most powerful Supreme Court justice of her time. For most of her twenty-four-plus years on the Court, from October 1981 to January 2006, she was the controlling vote on many of the great societal issues, including abortion, affirmative action, and religious freedom, so much so that the press came to call it the O'Connor Court.

Do not look back, do not regret, take life as it comes and make the most of it. That was Ada Mae's way, and in time it would be her daughter's way, too.

In part because Americans were fearful of enemies within, they went looking for enemies abroad. War and conquest have served to distract nations from their internal contradictions and conflict for as long as nations have existed.

according to Lodge, were guilty of far worse. The war lovers had exaggerated Spanish cruelty in order to get their war, and now they covered up the abuses of American troops.

It is remarkable how little concern men seem to have for logic, statistics, and even, indeed, survival: we live by emotion, prejudice, and pride."24

Miltiades was a Greek general who, flush with victory against the Persians at Marathon in 490 BC, led a punitive mission against an ally of Persia, a small island nation that was supposed to be a pushover. The mission was a fiasco and Miltiades was defeated and disgraced; he died of his wounds in prison.

strength of our country. It is the relationship between ourselves and the generations which follow.

one of the most important things to me is that my children and grandchildren are curious. Because, if you're not curious, you're not smart.

wandering off to bars. "I

The Soviets, in an unprecedented gesture, published the entire address—which called for mutual disarmament—in Pravda. A sense of hope and possibility briefly flared in Washington and Moscow, and other capitals around the world.

Take a bucket, fill it with water, Put your hand in—clear up to the wrist. Now pull it out; the hole that remains Is a measure of how you'll be missed… The moral of this quaint example; To do just the best that you can, Be proud of yourself, but remember, There is no Indispensable Man!

It is true that it then presupposes that the executive should not habitually be insane!"5

I've never done a job that I didn't think was a stretch." -Sandra Day O'Connor

She would walk away from fights she deemed unnecessary, while never shying away from the important ones. She knew when to tease, when to flatter, and when to punch the bully in the nose.

Two days later, Sandra achingly wrote to her son Jay from Washington:

She is an achieving woman without an edge. She is good-looking without being alienatingly beautiful and bright without being alarmingly intellectual,' wrote McGrory.

slave camp?"21 He was far from alone in

plenipotentiary