Stephen Ambrose Quotes
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The war in Vietnam I thought a dreadful mistake.
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Winning the Revolutionary War, or the Civil War, or World War II were the turning points in our history, the sine qua non of our forward progress.
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I thought Nixon was the worst President we had ever had, save only perhaps Andrew Johnson.
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History is everything that has ever happened.
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In one of his last newsletters, Mike Ranney wrote: "In thinking back on the days of Easy Company, I'm treasuring my remark to a grandson who asked, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' No,'" I answered, 'but I served in a company of heroes.
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Neighbors are far better acoustic analyzers for determining the quality of their life versus any acoustic instrument left unattended by an expert.
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As to the Indians, the guiding principle was, promise them anything just so long as they get out of the way.
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At the core, the American citizen soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn't want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed. So they fought, and won, and we all of us, living and yet to be born, must be forever profoundly grateful.
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During the Second World War, the Germans took four years to build the Atlantic Wall. On four beaches it held up the Allies for about an hour; at Omaha it held up the U.S. for less than one day. The Atlantic Wall must therefore be regarded as one of the greatest blunders in military history.
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World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism.
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I think it's just that the private lives of our public leaders are so much more exposed today that if you're sensitive to protecting your family, it's much harder to not get defensive when somebody asks you those really rude questions about what your wife and your children are thinking and feeling at that exact moment.
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Writing is not the easiest way to make a living. Your work long hours, usually all by yourself. It is not a way to make money.
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The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.
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Friends never cheat on each other, or take advantage, or lie. Friends do not spy on one another, yet they have no secrets. Friends glory in each other's successes and are downcast by the failures. Friends minister to each other, nurse each other. Friends give to each other, worry about each other, stand always ready to help. Perfect friendship is rarely achieved, but at its height it is an ecstasy.
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The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major.
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To have some parts flowing free again . . . with deer grazing on its banks . . . ducks and geese raising their young in the backwaters . . . eddies and twists and turns for canoeists . . . and fishing opportunities such as Lewis and Clark enjoyed . . . would be the finest possible tribute to the men of the Expedition, and a priceless gift for our children.
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Within Easy Company they had made the best friends they had ever had, or would ever have. They were prepared to die for each other; more important, they were prepared to kill for each other.
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Reading your own material aloud forces you to listen.
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I was taught by professors who had done their schooling in the 1930s. Most of them were scornful of, even hated, big business.
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In America, Jefferson noted with approval, women knew their place.
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Trial by jury. Live wherever you can make a living. How could a government based on such principles fail?
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I think that the opportunity to improve race relations in the United States has been put off temporarily.
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The more sophisticated we get, the more advanced our buildings and vehicles become, the more vulnerable we are.
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Jefferson owned slaves. He did not believe that all were created equal. He was a racist.