There are no insoluble problems. Only time-consuming ones.

If you grab enough Texas land, somethin' good is bound to happen.

The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality.

The Rockies are therefore very young and should never be thought of as ancient. They are still in the process of building and eroding, and no one today can calculate what they will look like ten million years from now. They have the extravagant beauty of youth, the allure of adolescence, and they are mountains to be loved.

Creative geniuses are a slap-happy lot, Treat them with respect.

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.

It was the silent time before dawn, along the shores of what had been one of the most beautiful lakes in southern Africa.

The church's job is to provide permanent solace and spiritual leadership to the people as a whole, whatever their government at the moment, so long as it stays within the bounds of moral decency.

The extreme geniality of San Francisco's economic, intellectual and political climate makes it the most varied and challenging city in the United States.

An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.

As a younger man I wrote for eight years without ever earning a nickel which is a long apprenticeship, but in that time I learned a lot about my trade.

I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.

All I can do is play the game the way the cards fall.

When this is over, I'm not going to be the same guy. I am going to live as if I were a great man.

During my lifetime I have met dozens of writers and photographers in dozens of different countries. But I have encountered no one who could both write and photograph with the artistry of Robert Vavra.

A soldier lives always for the next battle, because he knows that before it arrives impossible changes can occur in his favor.

No man leaves where he is and seeks a distant place unless he is in some respect a failure.

If there was a turning point for me, it was 'The Bridges at Toko-Ri.' It is a very fine short novel. But it gave me very little satisfaction. Really. I decided I wasn't going to go down that avenue.

No invader has ever conquered the heart of Poland, that spirit which is the inheritance of sons and daughters, the private passion of families and the ancient, unbreakable tie to all those who came before.

We are never prepared for what we expect.