John Paul II, above all, managed to contain the huge mass of frustration, of hate that had accumulated in that region, in favour of a peaceful transition. This was, without doubt, something that changed European history. – Rocco Buttiglione
Of all the species of literary composition, perhaps biography is the most delightful. The attention concentrated on one individual gives a unity to the materials of which it is composed, which is wanting in general history. – Robert Hall
Throughout human history, the apostles of purity, those who have claimed to possess a total explanation, have wrought havoc among mere mixed-up human beings. – Salman Rushdie
A phoenix, Beirut seems to always pull itself out its ashes, reinvents itself, has been conquered numerous times in its 7,000-year history, yet it survives by both becoming whatever its conquerors wished it to be and retaining its idiosyncratic persona. – Rabih Alameddine
To have been able to write the books I wanted to write, on demanding subjects like war and the history of psychiatry, and for them to have sold in the numbers they have – and then go around saying: ‘Actually, I’d also like to have won the Costa Book of the Year?’ That would be ridiculous. – Sebastian Faulks
Someone will eventually succeed in this hunt for a longevity pill, and when they do, one of the greatest advances in the history of medicine will have been achieved. – S. Jay Olshansky
With the ’39 Clues,’ we were making history jump out of the page for the readers, so they don’t know they’re learning. The kids can’t put the books down – it’s so exciting. – Peter Lerangis
At first I wanted to go to university, but I really didn’t dare to. I was too self-conscious, being a working-class kid. It was really difficult. I was going to study history, but the professor asked me some questions I didn’t understand, and I didn’t dare to ask what they meant. I left university and went to work in the Post. – Per Petterson
The history of Iranian foreign investment in the past, their terms were always quite challenging, quite difficult. – Rex Tillerson
The social and economic impact of innovative American researchers, companies, and workers over the course of U.S. history have been enormous. – Robert Hormats
All religions have periods in their history which are looked back to with retrospective fear and trembling as eras of persecution, and each religion has its own book of martyrs. – Richard Le Gallienne
We want to assist China’s soft power; we want to develop a vibrant young cinema in China. The average American has no understanding whatsoever of China. We’d like to create a young generation to tell their stories on a world stage. We can make history as well as make money. – Robert Friedland
In Afghanistan, we have had a history of very strong women, and we need to reclaim that history and talk about it. – Rula Ghani
The Ukraine has a long history of either being part of the Soviet Union or within that sphere. – Rand Paul
I almost fainted. There was no family history. I had been eating a vegetarian diet and I exercised. – Rue McClanahan
I’ve always had sort of an interest in American history, full stop, and especially people who contributed to the civil rights struggle. – Ruth Negga
If you could have imagined that someone is happy that Obama is president, it has to be Jimmy Carter because he is no longer the worst president in our history. – Oliver North
Lincoln made mistakes. Roosevelt made mistakes. Eisenhower made mistakes. The Battle of the Bulge was the biggest intelligence failure in American military history, much bigger than any in Vietnam or now. We didn’t know that the Soviets were moving 400,000 or 500,000 troops. We missed it. – Rudy Giuliani
Whereas religious prayers sing of peace and harmony, religion has divided human beings through an atrocious history of enmity and bloodshed. Yet, behind the veil of superficiality and hypocrisy, I always believed in the inherent beauty of God that lies at the essence of all true spiritual paths. – Radhanath Swami
So don’t get me wrong, I love my songs, and I still love hearing them. That’s history, baby. – Ronnie Spector
History has always been a series of pendulum swings, but the individual doesn’t have to get caught in that. – Robert Johnson
The Net is not television. It is the finest direct-marketing mechanism in the history of mankind. It is direct mail with free stamps, and it allows you to create richer and deeper relationships than you’ve ever been able to create before. – Seth Godin
What we’re looking for at my school is intellectuals. People who want to talk about the art and be knowledgeable about it. People who want to know the history. Not everybody needs to be performing. – Savion Glover
You can’t walk alone. Many have given the illusion, but none have really walked alone. Man is not made that way. Each man is bedded in his people, their history, their culture, and their values. – Peter Abrahams
So history is fertile territory for me and I think I could feel happy with any period of history, provided I had the right sources and the necessary time for the initial research. – Rose Tremain
I simply wanted to state that during this little slice of history, this is what happened and these were the good sides of it, these were the more dangerous sides of it, and this was the result. – Roland Joffe
While being in the right seat at the right game might create short-term reassurance, I can’t get over the idea that really what people feel is that their club is being run by a group of guys who know the history, study the heritage and view Villa as a proud Victorian club in its third century. – Randy Lerner
I felt that the IRA, in the context of Irish history, and Sinn Fein were a legitimate force that had to be recognized, and you wouldn’t have peace without them. – Peter T. King
The most important thing I learned as a foreign correspondent in about 80 countries is that it takes a very shallow knowledge of history to think that there are solutions to most problems. – Robert D. Kaplan