James A. Michener quotes - page 3

Second, after a painful gap without any king, and a furious struggle by various foreign powers to elect men favorable to them, the Seym chose a pathetic Polish incompetent, who had the good sense to die rather promptly. (James A. Michener)
It takes courage to know when you ought to be afraid. View quote
James A. Michener
If you type adeptly with 10 fingers, you're typing faster than your mind is working. View quote
James A. Michener
In 1948 I addressed some students at Washington and Lee University, and in the question-answer period one young man observed with asperity, "But it's easy for you to write. You've traveled." View quote
James A. Michener
In later years, it would become fashionable to say of the missionaries, "They came to the islands to do good, and they did right well." Others made jest of the missionary slogan, "They came to a nation in darkness; they left it in light," by pointing out: "Of course they left Hawaii lighter. They stole every goddamned thing that wasn't nailed down." View quote
James A. Michener
Look, son, if you calculate on getting me drunk and outsmarting me, quit now, because you simply can't do it. View quote
James A. Michener
Public libraries have been a mainstay of my life. They represent an individual's right to acquire knowledge; they are the sinews that bind civilized societies the world over. Without libraries, I would be a pauper, intellectually and spiritually. View quote
James A. Michener
I think young people ought to seek the experience that is going to knock them off center. View quote
James A. Michener
First buy a cowboy hat and boots. Then you're on your way to being a Texan. View quote
James A. Michener
Contrary to what people think, I slave over my books. View quote
James A. Michener
If I were a young man, I would not hesitate at writing anything to get into print, except pornography. (James A. Michener)
I don't know who my parents were. I know nothing about my inheritance. View quote
James A. Michener
Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow. View quote
James A. Michener
The dead are dead but they rely on us to fulfill their hopes. View quote
James A. Michener
I think young people ought to seek that differential experience that is going to knock them off dead center. I was a typical American school boy. I happened to get straight A's and be pretty good in sports. But I had no great vision of what I could be. And I never had any yearning. My job was to live through Friday afternoon, get through the week, and eat something. And then along came these differential experiences that you don't look for, that you don't plan for, but, boy, you better not miss them. The things that make you bigger than you are. The things that give you a vision. The things that give you a challenge. View quote
James A. Michener
I am a humanist because I think humanity can, with constant moral guidance, create reasonably decent societies. View quote
James A. Michener
America is a nation with many flaws that only the stupid would deny, but with hopes so vast that only the cowardly would refuse to acknowledge them. View quote
James A. Michener
Whatever I did, there was always someone around who was better qualified. They just didn't bother to do it. View quote
James A. Michener
I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in. What somebody else does is of no concern whatever except as an interesting variation. View quote
James A. Michener
I don't know who my parents were. I know nothing about my inheritance. I could be Jewish; I could be part Negro; I could be Irish; I could be Russian. I am spiritually a mix anyway, but I did have a solid childhood fortunately, because of some wonderful women who brought me up. I never had a father or a man in the house, and that was a loss, but you live with that loss. View quote
James A. Michener
I am a humanist because I think humanity can, with constant moral guidance, create reasonably decent societies. I think that young people who want to understand the world can profit from the works of Plato and Socrates, the behaviour of the three Thomases, Aquinas, More and Jefferson - the austere analyses of Immanuel Kant and the political leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. (James A. Michener)
The job of a storyteller is to tell stories, and I have concentrated on that obligation. View quote
James A. Michener
The sense of belonging is one of the great gifts men get in battle. View quote
James A. Michener
No idea is ever dead until those who believe in it say it's dead. View quote
James A. Michener
I have only one bit of advice to beginning writers: be sure your novel is read by Rodgers and Hammerstein. View quote
James A. Michener