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At some time in their careers, most good historians itch to write a history of the world, endeavor to discover what makes humanity the most destructive and creative of species.

Paul Johnson

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Paul Johnson
Age: 96
Born: 1928
Born: November 2
Editor
Historian
Journalist
Speechwriter
Writer
Manchester
England
Paul Bede Johnson
Creative
Historians
History
Historian
Write
Endeavor
Makes
Destructive
Writing
Discover
Good
Species
Time
Careers
World
Humanity
Itch

More quotes by Paul Johnson

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Scanning the newspapers and absorbing with a mixture of incredulity and indignation the enormities they report, I conclude that what England lacks today is, quite simply, sense.
Paul Johnson
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In the long term, it is desirable that the human race, faced with the prospect of extinction on Earth, should prepare an escape route for itself to another inhabitable planet.
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As the CIA and KGB, like God and Satan, fight Miltonic battles across five continents.
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There are no inevitabilities in history
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Democracy has many enemies, and the terrorist is only one of them.
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It takes less than a decade for today's luxury to become a universal necessity.
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A Stalin functionary admitted, Innocent people were arrested: naturally - otherwise no one would be frightened. If people were arrested only for specific misdemeanours, all the others would feel safe and so become ripe for treason.
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The most evil person I ever met was a toss-up between Pablo Picasso and the publisher-crook Robert Maxwell.
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The Second World War took place not so much because no one won the First, but because the Versailles Treaty did not acknowledge this truth.
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Nothing appeals to intellectuals more than the feeling that they represent 'the people'. Nothing, as a rule, is further from the truth
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My grandfather used to say, Learn to like art, music and literature deeply and passionately. They will be your friends when things are bad. It is true: at this time of year, when days are short and dark, and one hardly dares to open the newspapers, I turn, not vainly either, to the great creators of the past for distraction, solace and help.
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I was very fond of Princess Diana. She used to have me over to lunch to ask my advice. I'd give her good advice, and she'd say: 'I entirely agree. Paul, you're so right.' Then she'd go and do the opposite.
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I don't write huge books any more. I used to write 1,000 printed pages, but now I write short books. I did one on Napoleon, 50,000 words - enjoyed doing that. He was a baddie. I did one on Churchill, which was a bestseller in New York, I'm glad to say. 50,000 words. He was a goodie.
Paul Johnson
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The word 'meaningful' when used today is nearly always meaningless.
Paul Johnson
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Long periods of recession, which tend to be self-perpetuating, are usually ended by war, or by preparations for it.
Paul Johnson
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If I see a door ajar, I push on it to see how far it will open, and if it opens wide I go through it.
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If we want foxes, to observe and delight in, we must have hunting.
Paul Johnson
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In the past, the U.S. has shown its capacity to reinvent its gifts for leadership. During the 1970s, in the aftermath of the Nixon abdication and the Ford and Carter presidencies, the whole nation peered into the abyss, was horrified by what it saw and elected Ronald Reagan as president, which began a national resurgence.
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I like that lady - Sarah Palin. She's great. I like the cut of her jib.
Paul Johnson
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As a child I found railroad stations exciting, mysterious, and even beautiful, as indeed they often were.
Paul Johnson