First of all, you can make the argument that there's no such thing as the past. Nobody lived in the past.

Quote by David McCullough

Topics: David McCullough Quotes

I'm very aware how many distractions the reader has in life today, how many good...

I'm very aware how many distractions the reader has in life today, how many good...

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 ask me when I start one of these projects, what is your theme? I...

People ask me when I start one of these projects, what is your theme? I...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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

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

I love all sides of the work but that doesn't mean it isn't hard.

I love all sides of the work but that doesn't mean it isn't hard.

When I began, I thought that the way one should work was to do all...

When I began, I thought that the way one should work was to do all...

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...

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

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

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.

I would pay to do what I do if I had to.

I would pay to do what I do if I had to.

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...

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...

With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War...

With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War...

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...

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...