The way we live history is not the way historians tell history. Our lives are messy and chaotic and bewildering. David Grann More Quotes by David Grann More Quotes From David Grann I do think that in many cases, where crimes have been covered up and perpetrators can escape justice, history can provide some accounting. It can identify the killers, ensure that their names are remembered, and it can give voice to and record the victims, and make sure, even more importantly, that their voices and their stories are remembered and heard. And I don't think there's justice, but I do think history can play an important role in that accounting. David Grann justice giving thinking Early in my career I was much more confident in the almost omniscient powers of a reporter, because you could find anything out and then write the definitive piece about it. And as I got older, I got much more humble about trying to learn everything, with what eludes you, especially with history. David Grann humble writing trying I'm a big believer in the truth; I'm a kind of a fundamentalist. My goal is at least to the best of my ability to try to ferret it out. Especially when I believe there is a crime, I'm not a post-modernist: if somebody shot someone or poisoned them, they are responsible for somebody's death. David Grann goal trying believe One of the dangers today is that when we don't like what the facts tell us, we just attack the facts, and we undermine the credibility of institutions. That is true not just for reporting; it's true of when people are attacking the congressional budget office, or when they're attacking certain science - that's where we can get into a dangerous realm. David Grann office today people You think of the rainforest as this incredibly abundant place of fauna and animals and flora. This great, rich wilderness. And yet it is such a biological battlefield in which everything is competing. David Grann great think you rich The Osage have this lovely phrase: 'Travelers in the Mist.' It was the term for part of an Osage clan that would take the lead whenever the tribe was venturing into unfamiliar realms. And, in a way, we are all travelers in the mist. The challenge is that, as writers, we sometimes want to ignore this murkiness, or we want to write around it. David Grann challenge ignore sometimes way When I work on stories, I tend to lose sight of everything else. I forget to pay bills or to shave. I don't change my clothes as often as I should. David Grann clothes change work forget The giant squid is the perfect embodiment of a sea monster: it is huge, it has tentacles, it has big eyes, and it is absolutely frightening-looking. But, most important, it is real. Unlike the Loch Ness monster, we know it's out there. David Grann eyes know important sea The amazing thing about the sea is that it is perhaps the last truly unexplored frontier; most oceanographers estimate that only about ninety-five per cent of the sea has been studied. Meanwhile, the oceans are believed to contain more animals than exist on land, a majority of which have never been discovered. David Grann animals amazing never sea Heroes have always served as a reflection of their times, a template of who we are and what we want to be. David Grann heroes always reflection want The outlaw, in the American imagination, is a subject of romance - a 'good' bad man, he is typically a master of escape, a crack shot, a ladies' man. David Grann bad good man imagination If I can find the right idea, I can get out of the way and do a good story. David Grann story good i-can way It was a very circuitous path. It was not very linear - I floundered about for many years. David Grann about very path years One of the things I believe strongly in is developing institutions - legal, press, bureaucracies, academies - that are rooted in the pursuit of impartial truth. That aren't simply just bent to partisan ends or are corrupted for the powerful or for other ulterior motives. David Grann legal powerful truth believe I had always been a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. David Grann fan had been always The biggest difference with Twitter and writing long form is you're part of a virtual community where you know people, or think you know them, through their links. David Grann you community long people There was a part of me that always wanted to be an editor. David Grann editor part me always Honestly, I had no idea what to do on Twitter when I started. I didn't follow it enough. Slowly, though, I started to realize what I'm okay at. Like, I'm just not particularly witty. David Grann follow realize okay enough I'm kind of odd; I'm a technophobe who isn't a technophobe. I'm afraid of new things, but eventually I love them. That happened with Twitter. David Grann new things new-things love When I work on stories, I tend to be pretty obsessive. David Grann tend pretty obsessive work
