The title always comes last. What I really work hard on is the beginning. Where do you begin? In what tone do you begin? I almost have to have a scene in my mind.

Quote by David McCullough

Topics: David McCullough Quotes

I can fairly be called an amateur because I do what I do, in the...

I can fairly be called an amateur because I do what I do, in the...

To me history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of...

To me history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of...

I just thank my father and mother, my lucky stars, that I had the advantage...

I just thank my father and mother, my lucky stars, that I had the advantage...

You can't be a full participant in our democracy if you don't know our history.

You can't be a full participant in our democracy if you don't know our history.

Every book is a new journey. I never felt I was an expert on a...

Every book is a new journey. I never felt I was an expert on a...

I love Dickens. I love the way he sets a scene.

I love Dickens. I love the way he sets a scene.

I had been writing for about twelve years. I knew pretty well how you could...

I had been writing for about twelve years. I knew pretty well how you could...

There's an awful temptation to just keep on researching. There comes a point where you...

There's an awful temptation to just keep on researching. There comes a point where you...

First of all, you can make the argument that there's no such thing as the...

First of all, you can make the argument that there's no such thing as the...

When I read that the British army had landed thirty-two thousand troops - and I...

When I read that the British army had landed thirty-two thousand troops - and I...

Real success is finding your lifework in the worth that you love.

Real success is finding your lifework in the worth that you love.

No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read.

No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read.

My next book is also set in the eighteenth century. It's about the Revolution, with...

My next book is also set in the eighteenth century. It's about the Revolution, with...

I work very hard on the writing, writing and rewriting and trying to weed out...

I work very hard on the writing, writing and rewriting and trying to weed out...

My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I...

My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I...

To go back and read Swift and Defoe and Samuel Johnson and Smollett and Pope...

To go back and read Swift and Defoe and Samuel Johnson and Smollett and Pope...

In time I began to understand that it's when you start writing that you really...

In time I began to understand that it's when you start writing that you really...

The pull, the attraction of history, is in our human nature. What makes us tick?...

The pull, the attraction of history, is in our human nature. What makes us tick?...

People are so helpful. People will stop what they're doing to show you something, to...

People are so helpful. People will stop what they're doing to show you something, to...

May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.

May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.