It takes courage to know when you ought to be afraid. James A. Michener More Quotes by James A. Michener More Quotes From James A. Michener Religious hatreds ought not to be propagated at all, but certainly not on a tax-exempt basis. James A. Michener atheism hatred religious I was a Navy officer writing about Navy problems and I simply stole this lovely Army nurse and popped her into a Navy uniform, where she has done very well for herself. James A. Michener army nurse writing There are no insoluble problems. Only time-consuming ones. James A. Michener time-consuming consuming problem I was brought up in the great tradition of the late nineteenth century: that a writer never complains, never explains and never disdains. James A. Michener tradition complaining writing I am a humanist because I think humanity can, with constant moral guidance, create reasonably decent societies. I think that young people who want to understand the world can profit from the works of Plato and Socrates, the behaviour of the three Thomases, Aquinas, More and Jefferson - the austere analyses of Immanuel Kant and the political leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. James A. Michener plato people thinking Public libraries have been a mainstay of my life. They represent an individual's right to acquire knowledge; they are the sinews that bind civilized societies the world over. Without libraries, I would be a pauper, intellectually and spiritually. James A. Michener library would-be world Every animal that walks the earth, or swims, or flies is precious beyond description, something so rare and wonderful that it equals the stars or the ocean or the mind of man. James A. Michener ocean stars animal Creative geniuses are a slap-happy lot. Treat Them with respect. James A. Michener creativity creative science Writers turn dreams into print. James A. Michener print turns dream I had been educated with free scholarships. I went to nine different universities, always at public expense, and when you have that experience, you are almost obligated to give it back. It's as simple as that. James A. Michener different simple giving We should be most careful about retreating from the specific challenge of our age. We should be reluctant to turn our back upon the frontier of this epoch... We cannot be indifferent to space, because the grand slow march of our intelligence has brought us, in our generation, to a point from which we can explore and understand and utilize it. To turn back now would be to deny our history, our capabilities. James A. Michener our-generation space challenges a soldier lives always for the next battle, because he knows that before it arrives impossible changes can occur in his favor. James A. Michener favors battle soldier No idea is ever dead until those who believe in it say it's dead. James A. Michener belief believe ideas Rampaging horsemen can conquer; only the city can civilize. James A. Michener horsemen conquer cities Not too many people work in a job where, waiting out there are three or four hundred people who are paid to tear apart what you've done. And often they are brighter than you are, or they know more about the subject than you do, or they wish they had written a book themselves, or done a lot better. Or they just don't like it! And you have to live with it. James A. Michener jobs book people I kept careful record of the impact of religion on the election in my county. The religious issue permeated every meeting I conducted. It influenced Republicans and Democrats alike. Ministers preached politics publicly and churches distributed the most vicious electioneering materials. Practically no one I met escaped the pressure of this overriding problem and both parties were ultimately forced to make their major calculations with the religious question a foremost consideration. James A. Michener impact party religious I never wrote anything that was published until I was forty. James A. Michener forty Things are going to go wrong, and I think we are false to life if we don’t portray it. But there is also the hope that some lucky clown is going to come along and stumble into the gold mine. And I think you are also entitled to hold out that hope. James A. Michener lucky gold thinking During my lifetime I have met dozens of writers and photographers in dozens of different countries. But I have encountered no one who could both write and photograph with the artistry of Robert Vavra. James A. Michener different writing country When I was a child in the Navy during World War II, I was perennially grateful to the armed services libraries for having on hand a good supply of those pocket books, which were so common in that period. I must have read a couple hundred of them, and they did a lot to save my sanity. James A. Michener couple war children
