Stephen Ambrose

“War creates many strange juxtapositions, perhaps none stranger than this: men who are doing their utmost to kill other men can transform in a split second into lifesavers. Soldiers who encounter a wounded man (often an enemy) become tender, caring angels of mercy. The urge to kill and the urge to save sometimes run together simultaneously.”

“Eisenhower is my choice as the American of the 20th Century. Of all the men I've studied and written about, he is the brightest and the best.”

“Nixon regarded himself as having been cheated by life. He never got my vote.”

“Johnson had been the most powerful man in the world, yet the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong had resisted, overcome his power, broken his will.”

“Washington and Jefferson were both rich Virginia planters, but they were never friends.”

“Winning the Revolutionary War, or the Civil War, or World War II were the turning points in our history, the sine qua non of our forward progress.”

“Writing is not the easiest way to make a living. Your work long hours, usually all by yourself. It is not a way to make money.”

“Even before Watergate and his resignation, Nixon had inspired conflicting and passionate emotions.”

“Almost everything Truman did in foreign affairs I approve of.”

“The more sophisticated we get, the more advanced our buildings and vehicles become, the more vulnerable we are.”

“The Canadians have managed to live peacefully with their Indians. It is disgrace that the United States has not done the same.”

“Reading your own material aloud forces you to listen.”

“I'm no politician. I'm an historian who has learned through a lifetime of studying that nothing in the world beats universal education.”

“The Holocaust was the most evil crime ever committed.”

“It would not be possible to praise nurses too highly.”

“My favorite book is the last one printed, which is always better than those that were published earlier.”

“World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism.”

“Washington, not Jefferson, freed his slaves upon his death.”

“Dams have harmed our wildlife and made rivers less useful for recreation.”

“The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. Love of the past implies faith in the future.”