Quote

When you write biographies, whether it's about Ben Franklin or Einstein, you discover something amazing: They are human.

Walter Isaacson

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Walter Isaacson
Age: 72
Born: 1952
Born: May 20
Biographer
Journalist
Writer
New Orleans
Louisiana
Writing
Franklin
Something
Biographies
Discover
Amazing
Whether
Write
Human
Humans
Einstein

More quotes by Walter Isaacson

Image
The best and most innovative products don't always win...(it's an) aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked
Walter Isaacson
Image
I've asked Jobs why he didn't get an operation then and he said, 'I didn't want my body to be opened... I didn't want to be violated in that way.'
Walter Isaacson
Image
Just being the seeker, somebody whose open to spiritual enlightenment, is in itself the important thing and it's the reward for being a seeker in this world.
Walter Isaacson
Image
I think that Benjamin Franklin felt very strongly in foreign policy in this world, that you needed to at least show some humility, especially when you were strong.
Walter Isaacson
Image
I've always had an abundance of material about the subjects of my biographies.
Walter Isaacson
Image
Not playing by the rules, not seeing things conventionally, that's the heart of who he [ Steve Jobs] is, and he does it in small ways of everyday rebellion just almost to assert who he is, like not putting a license plate on his car.
Walter Isaacson
Image
I think when you're looking for people to interview, you want to make it fair and honest. You're not just bringing people on so you can beat them up or, you know, make fools out of them or something
Walter Isaacson
Image
Steve has a reality distortion field.” When Hertzfeld looked puzzled, Tribble elaborated. “In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything. It wears off when he’s not around, but it makes it hard to have realistic schedules.
Walter Isaacson
Image
I wonder now how tough you have to be to get big things done.
Walter Isaacson
Image
But the point is to get a whole new generation of people and people in general more re-engaged in news, and this has happened a lot since September 11th of course.
Walter Isaacson
Image
If you act like you can do something, then it will work.
Walter Isaacson
Image
Was he smart? No, not exceptionally. Instead, he was a genius.
Walter Isaacson
Image
i had no idea what i wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out.
Walter Isaacson
Image
What are the five products you want to focus on? Get rid of the rest, because they’re dragging you down. They’re turning you into Microsoft. They’re causing you to turn out products that are adequate but not great.
Walter Isaacson
Image
I think it's very important to have a sense of balance in covering the war, but you don't have to be morally neutral about terrorism.
Walter Isaacson
Image
The Mona Lisa, to me, is the greatest emotional painting ever done. The way the smile flickers makes it a work of both art and science, because Leonardo understood optics, and the muscles of the lips, and how light strikes the eye - all of it goes into making the Mona Lisa's smile so mysterious and elusive.
Walter Isaacson
Image
...never let a passion for the perfect take precedence over pragmatism.
Walter Isaacson
Image
When there are multiple versions of a story, you really have three ways to go. You can pick the most sensational version. You can try to balance things in your gut to get to what you think is the honest truth. Or you can err on the side of kindness.
Walter Isaacson
Image
Vision w/o execution is just hallucination. You need the right combination of visionary + team that can execute
Walter Isaacson
Image
You know, one of these things that happened in the '60s and '70s was this confluence of, sort of, a counter-culture with computer culture.
Walter Isaacson