Brad Meltzer, The Inner Circle
21 quotes
"...when you go down a dark alley and you feel that tingling across the back of your neck, that's not just a bad feeling, that's a biological gift from God - the Gift of Fear...when you ignore that gift - when you go down the dark alley and say, Y'know, I'm sure it'll be okay - that's when you find real pain."
"And y'know what they decided the number one threat was? The destructive and disruptive capability of a small group. That's what they're worried about most...they're terrified of a small group with a committed goal."
"Since the moment I saw her yesterday, I've been looking through the sparkly prism of exhilaration that comes with any old flame. But now, for the first time, I'm not just seeing what I want. I'm seeing what my friend needs."
"History is simply what's behind us."
"Today, I don't believe in destiny. But I do believe in history...There's nothing more powerful than history..."
"History doesn't choose individual people. History chooses everyone. Every day. The only question is: How long will you ignore the call?"
"...history is a selection process - it chooses moments and events, and even people - it hands them a situation that they shouldn't be able to overcome, and it's in those moments, in that fight, that people find out who they are."
"History isn't written by the winners - it's written by everyone - it's a jigsaw of facts from contradictory sources. But every once in a while, you unearth that one original document that no one can argue with..."
"...can I tell you something...? I don't think you're in love with the past. I think you're scared of the future."
"In this world, there was nothing scarier than trusting someone. But there was also nothing more rewarding."
"We make a great bad guy, and they all say they hate us. But at the end of every day, people want to trust us. Because we're their government. And people trust their government."
"there's nothing more intimate in life than simply being understood. And understanding someone else."
"She wasn't tracking down her father to learn more about him. She was tracking him down to learn more about herself."
"The past may not hurt you, but it won't challenge you, either."
"The worst lies in life are the ones we tell ourselves."
"Don't go to eighth grade...don't talk about something old...don't bring up old memories that have nothing to do with who we are now. THIS is all that matters! TODAY."
"No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us."
"Our fathers never leave us. Ever."
"I need the kind of help that comes with a side order of help."
"There are some people in your life who bring back old memories. And there are others - your first kiss, your first love, your first sex - who, the moment you see them, bring a spark...and something far more potent. They bring back your old life and with that, potential. And possibilities. And the feeling that if you were back in that time, life could be so very different from where you're stuck right now. That's the most tantalizing thing....I want my potential back."
"Not every President is a great speaker. Not every President is a great thinker. But in the modern era, every single President is a master of one thing: eye contact."