Douglas Brinkley

“Richard Kerry not only was a pilot in World War II, but was a civil servant. He did not come from money.”

“Reagan never cottoned to dictators. He was pure in this notion in a true belief that democracy was the best solution in the world because it spoke to people's hopes and dreams and aspirations, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of speech.”

“Although Cronkite had once crash landed in a Dutch potato field under enemy fire, he chose instead to focus on celebrating the liberation of the Netherlands at the hands of the Free Dutch.”

“The Edmund Pettus Bridge - which in 2013 was declared a National Historic Landmark - isn't symbolic of the Civil War in a meaningful way. It is, however, the modern-day battlefield where the voting rights movement was born.”

“The superhighway of celebrity and showmanship is filled with debris.”

“Everybody trusted Cronkite because he reminded them of their favorite uncle or trusted family physician. Being square in the age of the Beatles made Cronkite retro cool.”

“What makes 'American Pie' so unusual is that it isn't a relic from the counterculture but a talisman, which, like a sacred river, keeps bringing joy to listeners everywhere. When 'American Pie' suddenly is played on a jukebox or radio, it's almost impossible not to sing along.”

“With the newspapers cheering, Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt chose a top-notch regiment of more than 1,250 men. They were first called Teddy's Texas Tarantulas and went through three or four other monikers until Roosevelt's Rough Riders stuck.”

“Stubbornness is a positive quality of presidential leadership - if you're right about what you're stubborn about.”

“I'm not a historian who thinks Confederate memorials should be boarded up.”

“I have a lot of books I want to write.”

“In 1971, near the middle of Nixon's first term, he approved a plan to install a White House taping system as a way of preserving an accurate chronicle of important discussions and decisions. Except for Nixon, three aides, and the Secret Service, no one knew about the listening devices.”

“Rosa Parks' entire career has been one as working as a civil rights activist.”

“I'm not a partisan.”

“One thing 'not right' on the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches is the sad fact that the Edmund Pettus Bridge hasn't been renamed the John Lewis Bridge.”

“If you're a Kennedy and you go to Italy or you go to Argentina, you're treated as royalty. And in the United States, we're endlessly fascinated by the family.”

“President Abraham Lincoln never lost his ardor for the United States to remain united during the Civil War.”

“We can only imagine the history of the free world today if, at the end of the Civil War, there had been two countries: the United States and the Confederate States of America.”

“New Orleans is just a microcosm of Newark and Detroit and hundreds of other troubled urban locales.”

“When he (Walter Cronkite) drank, he had an appetite for both history and political bullshit.”