Nevil Shute

“People who spent the war in prison camps have written a lot of books about what a bad time they had, she said quietly, staring into the embers. they don't know what it was like, not being in a camp.”

“It's no good going on living in the ashes of a dead happiness.”

“It was a gambler's action, but his whole life had probably been made up of gambles; it could hardly be otherwise in the outback.”

“After two wars, I have been in danger too often to bother very much about being killed, and when it comes, I would prefer that it should happen in an aeroplane, since aeroplanes have been the best part of my life.”

“Aircraft do not crash of themselves. They come to grief because men are foolish, or vain, or lazy, or irresolute or reckless. One crash in a thousand may be unavoidable because God wills it so - not more than that.”

“You did not die when you were drawing public assistance money, but you certainly did not remain alive.”

“There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men that haven't got a job. All other things depend on work today.”

“I didn't wait to see her ship go off, because partings are stupid things and best got over quickly”

“When I was first sent from H.M.S. King Alfred to be interviewed by Goodeve in the Admiralty, I was furious. The War seemed to me, in June of 1940, to be desperately serious, and England in imminent peril of invasion.”

“Everybody pays lip service to the safety of the aeroplane, but nobody is prepared to pay for it.”

“it was so beautiful', he said. 'the Three Pagodas Pass must be one of the loveliest places in the world. you've got this broad valley with the river running down it, and the jungle forest, and the mountains....we used to sit by the river and watch the sun setting behind the mountains, sometimes, and say what a marvellous place it would be to come to for a holiday. however terrible a prison camp may be, it makes a difference if its beautiful.”