From the time I was a little boy I found myself reading history when I had a choice. I read a lot of things, but history had a special appeal for me.

History had its own way of explaining things. The way historians explain things is by telling a story.

Without history we are the prisoners of the accident of where and when we were born.

We, to some degree, are like what we are because we inherited certain things from the Greeks and the Romans. One of them that's so striking is the whole area of politics.

War has been more common than peace, and extended periods of peace have been rare in a world divided into multiple states

I can see that you [Bruce Cole] are a true historian because you really always ought to ask that question about anybody at a different place or a different time: What's the same and what's different?

You have to liberate yourself first from the prejudices of the world in which you live.

The beauty and gift of truth, is that it is not dependent upon your belief in order to remain true

Whenever, you face a challenge, it is time for a change.

The guitar breathed. It inhaled and exhaled, and music filled the shop as the instrument picked the heartbreak of generations.

Sorry, maybe this is the head injury talking, but … what?

Our desire must be like a slow and stately ship sailing across endless oceans never in search of safe anchorage. Then suddenly unexpectedly it will find mooring for a moment.

The best things in life are silly.

Those sweetly smiling angels with pensive looks, innocent faces, and cash-boxes for hearts.

I feel an unfamiliar but pleasant sensation in my lips, tugging them upward. This is... new.

The animals are right here, right in front of us. And how we treat these companions is a test.

Never take your eyes off the cash flow because it's the life blood of business.