#histories

When I begin a book, I inevitably discover many things along the way, about the characters, their past histories and the political intrigues that surround them. This discovery process is vital, and I would not prejudice it by deciding too much in advance. ↗

— David Brin

#advance #along #begin #book #characters

The Veteran's History Project, a nationwide volunteer effort to collect oral histories from America's war veterans, provides an avenue to do just that. Now in its fifth year, the Project has collected more than 40,000 individual stories. ↗

— Spencer Bachus

#avenue #collect #collected #effort #fifth

What is all our histories, but God showing himself, shaking and trampling on everything that he has not planted. ↗

— Oliver Cromwell

#god #himself #histories #our #planted

I was endorsed by many corporations to work with their people. Since I had several hundred successful case histories, I realized that it was really valuable and everybody should have access to the information, so I started teaching seminars to groups of people. ↗

— Leonard Orr

#case #corporations #endorsed #everybody #groups

A Republic without parties is a complete anomaly. The histories of all popular governments show absurd is the idea of their attempting to exist without parties. ↗

— Franklin Pierce

#anomaly #attempting #complete #exist #governments

My time as editor has been overlapped by a crisis - a prolonged, labyrinthine, tragic, seemingly non-ending crisis - that involves the prehistory of 9/11, 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, fraught histories between the United States and almost everyone. ↗

— David Remnick

#almost #been #between #crisis #editor

Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends. ↗

— Alexander Pope

#examples #fidelity #friends #full #histories

Take your place, then. Look at what happened from every side and consider all the other ways it could have gone. Consider, even, an Africa unconquered altogether. Imagine those first Portuguese adventurers approaching the shore, spying on the jungle’s edge through their fitted brass lenses. Imagine that by some miracle of dread or reverence they lowered their spyglasses, turned, set their riggings, sailed on. Imagine all who came after doing the same. What would that Africa be now? All I can think of is the other okapi, the one they used to believe in. A unicorn that could look you in the eye. ↗

— Barbara Kingsolver

#alternative-histories #freedom #freedom

But whatsoever betide, let us be ever venturesome; for nought comes of itself, and all men's gains are the fruit of adventure. ↗

— Herodotus of Halicarnassus

#men

Political corruption is endemic all over this country, in some places worse than others, right? On crime, you have all the major American cities where the crime rates at different points in their histories, have spiked dramatically. ↗

— Mitch Landrieu

#american cities #cities #corruption #country #crime