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Johnson Had Been The Most Powerful Man In The World, Yet The North Vietnamese And The Vietcong Had Resisted, Overcome His Power, Broken His Will.

-Stephen Ambrose

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Johnson Had Been The

Stephen Ambrose

...

Johnson Had Been The Most Powerful Man In The World, Yet The North Vietnamese And The Vietcong Had Resisted, Overcome His Power, Broken His Will.

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The Past Is A Source Of Knowledge, And The Future Is A Source Of Hope. Love Of The Past Implies Faith In The Future.

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Reading Your Own Material Aloud Forces You To Listen.

My Favorite Book Is The Last One Printed, Which Is Always Better Than Those That Were Published Earlier.

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Who Today Is Willing To Say That Texas And California And The Remainder Of The Southwest Would Be Better Off If They Were Governed By Mexico?

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I Thought Nixon Was The Worst President We Had Ever Had, Save Only Perhaps Andrew Johnson.

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Washington And Jefferson Were Both Rich Virginia Planters, But They Were Never Friends.

In America, Jefferson Noted With Approval, Women Knew Their Place.

Jefferson Owned Slaves. He Did Not Believe That All Were Created Equal. He Was A Racist.

In One Of His Last Newsletters, Mike Ranney Wrote: "in Thinking Back On The Days Of Easy Company, I'm Treasuring My Remark To A Grandson Who Asked, 'grandpa, Were You A Hero In The War?' No,'" I Answered, 'but I Served In A Company Of Heroes.

At The Core, The American Citizen Soldiers Knew The Difference Between Right And Wrong, And They Didn't Want To Live In A World In Which Wrong Prevailed. So They Fought, And Won, And We All Of Us, Living And Yet To Be Born, Must Be Forever Profoundly Grateful.

American Is The First Democratic Nation-state.

The Great Wars Of The 20th Century Made It Into The Worst Century Ever.

Almost Everything Truman Did In Foreign Affairs I Approve Of.

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The Holocaust Was The Most Evil Crime Ever Committed.

To Be A Slaveholder Meant One Had To Regard The African American As Inferior In Every Way.

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Trial By Jury. Live Wherever You Can Make A Living. How Could A Government Based On Such Principles Fail?

Washington's Character Was Rock Solid. He Came To Stand For The New Nation And Its Republican Virtues, Which Was Why He Became Our First President By Unanimous Choice.

Eisenhower Had The Clearest Blue Eyes. He Would Fix Them On You. In My Every Interview With Him, He Would Lock His Eyes On To Mine And Keep Them There.

I Was Too Young For Korea And Too Old For Vietnam.

Oftentimes The Fascinating Thing Is That People Who Are Seen As Commanding Figures At The Moment That They Were Considered For President And Did Not Run Turned Out To Be Treated By History As Much More Minor Figures Politically.

World War Ii, The Atomic Bomb, The Cold War, Made It Hard For Americans To Continue Their Optimism.

I've Always Tried To Be Fair To My Subjects. That's Easy When They Are As Likable And Admirable As Lewis And Clark, Or Eisenhower.

In 1945, There Were More People Killed, More Buildings Destroyed, More High Explosives Set Off, More Fires Burning Than Before Or Since.

Friendships Are Different From All Other Relationships. Unlike Acquaintanceship, Friendship Is Based On Love. Unlike Lovers And Married Couples, It Is Free Of Jealousy. Unlike Children And Parents, It Knows Neither Criticism Nor Resentment. Friendship Has No Status In Law. Business Partnerships Are Based On A Contract. So Is Marriage. Parents Are Bound By Law. But Friendships Are Freely Entered Into, Freely Given, And Freely Exercised.

There Are Many More Want-to-be Writers Out There Than Good Editors.

My First Book Was The Book That Changed My Life.

To Have Some Parts Flowing Free Again . . . With Deer Grazing On Its Banks . . . Ducks And Geese Raising Their Young In The Backwaters . . . Eddies And Twists And Turns For Canoeists . . . And Fishing Opportunities Such As Lewis And Clark Enjoyed . . . Would Be The Finest Possible Tribute To The Men Of The Expedition, And A Priceless Gift For Our Children.

In 1945, There Were More People Killed, More Buildings Destroyed, More High Explosives Set Off, More Fires Burning Than Before Or Since.

Like Their Predecessors, The Presidents Of Today Just Throw Up Their Hands.

Washington, Not Jefferson, Freed His Slaves Upon His Death.

Neighbors Are Far Better Acoustic Analyzers For Determining The Quality Of Their Life Versus Any Acoustic Instrument Left Unattended By An Expert.

I Was Taught By Professors Who Had Done Their Schooling In The 1930s. Most Of Them Were Scornful Of, Even Hated, Big Business.

I Think That The Opportunity To Improve Race Relations In The United States Has Been Put Off Temporarily.

The Number One Secret Of Being A Successful Writer Is This: Marry An English Major.

During The Second World War, The Germans Took Four Years To Build The Atlantic Wall. On Four Beaches It Held Up The Allies For About An Hour; At Omaha It Held Up The U.s. For Less Than One Day. The Atlantic Wall Must Therefore Be Regarded As One Of The Greatest Blunders In Military History.

Andrew Johnson Was A Southerner Generally Who Proclaimed That His Native State Of Tennessee Was A Country For White Men.

Within Easy Company They Had Made The Best Friends They Had Ever Had, Or Would Ever Have. They Were Prepared To Die For Each Other; More Important, They Were Prepared To Kill For Each Other.

When Hitler Declared War On The United States, He Was Betting That German Soldiers, Raised Up In The Hitler Youth, Would Always Out Fight American Soldiers, Brought Up In The Boy Scouts. He Lost That Bet. The Boy Scouts Had Been Taught How To Figure Their Way Out Of Their Own Problems.

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