Quotes from Nelson DeMille

me, "Dickie Johnson and I were born together, grew up together, had lots of women together, and got old together, but he died before me.

There was a big banner hung at the entrance to the stacks which read: "Find Buried Treasure—Read Books." Excellent advice.

the guy from the Midwest goes up to a New Yorker on the street and says, "Excuse me, sir, can you tell me how to get to the Empire State Building, or should I just go fuck myself?

Over the fireplace, he has a reproduction of Rubens' Rape of the Sabine Women." I added, in case Mr. Mancuso wasn't familiar with the classical tale, "The Romans raped the women of the Sabine tribe.

Sara looked at the well-kept houses along the road. "These Communist pigs have beach clubs, good food, and access to foreign goods that the Cuban people can only dream about.

people firing rifles with live ammunition at me. Do you know what I did? I laughed. It was too ludicrous.

Every veteran since the first war got fucked big-time. Maybe you should stop feeling sorry for yourself. There's no war long enough or bad enough to mess up your head as bad as you messed it up yourself.

The guy did okay for himself.

Use a gun that works every time. As George Washington said, 'All skill is in vain when an angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket.

They're from the government, and they're here to help

Women, I've noticed, are easily distracted by clothing stores, and I was certain that the ladies on the Titanic stopped at the ship's apparel shop for the Half-Price Sinking Sale on their way to the lifeboats.

If I were a scientist looking at this stuff, I might wonder about God—not about His existence, but His intent.

Before you go on any mission, you need to understand what you know, identify what you don't know, and try to guess what could go wrong. And finally, getting there is only half the fun; you need a clear path home.

If she'd been one of the crew on the Titanic, she'd have made everyone sign for the life jackets.

the rule is, If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck.

The British are masters of disinformation, the Americans have learned from them, the French think they invented it, and the Germans are not subtle enough to put out a good lie. As for the Italians, your former colonial masters, they believe their own disinformation and act on it.

survived one trip into

The Feds, you have to understand, are so very politically correct and anal retentive, so very fucking frightened of the Washington Thought Police. They're totally cowed by the stupid directives that come out of Washington like a steady stream of diarrhea.

Me, Mia. Mama mia, Mia. Otis is rigor mortis.

fast-food places, discount stores, car dealers, and what passes for nightclubs hereabouts.

Neither a fortress nor a virgin will hold out long after they begin to negotiate.

What are you thinking about?" "This guy I know went into a sex shop and asked the proprietor for a blow-up sex doll." "Is this a joke?" "So the proprietor asks, 'You want a Christian doll, a Jewish doll, or a Muslim doll?' And the guy says, 'What difference does it make?' And the proprietor says, 'Well, the Muslim dolls blow themselves up.

a place where the worst elements of humanity had defeated civilization.

Beaumont is an antebellum relic, the former home of the Beaumont clan, who still exist in the county. Beaumont House escaped Sherman's March to the Sea, being not in the direct path of the march, but it had been looted and vandalized by Yankee stragglers. The locals will tell you that all the women in the house had been raped, but, in fact, the local guidebook says the Beaumonts fled a few steps ahead of the Yankees.