DAVID BALDACCI QUOTES
American novelist (1960- )
A smart man understood that victory was not inevitable. An even smarter man knew that defeat was never really total if you figured out how to handle the aftermath with skill and just the right spin. And the smartest men of all, even when they lost, they actually won.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Whole Truth
He sat on his bed and withdrew from his wallet ten photos that he arranged in front of him. They were crumpled, faded reminders of his family. He lingered over each, recalling moments of peace and love. And horror. As when his father had been beheaded by the Saudis, for what amounted to a misdemeanor. It usually took two whacks of the sword to behead someone. Yet Adnan's father had a very thick neck, and it had taken three strokes to sever it, an event eight-year-old Adnan had been forced to watch. Few people could have gone through those memories without shedding at least a few tears; however, Adnan's eyes remained dry. And yet his fingers trembled as he kissed the fading images of his dead children.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Camel Club
See, that why I ain't go to church. Figger I got me a church wherever I be. Want'a talk to God, well I say, "howdy-howdy, God," and we jaw fer a bit.
DAVID BALDACCI
Wish You Well
You had to take life as it came. It gave no quarter, spared no feelings. Limited no pain. Put no ceiling on happiness.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Innocent
It's often said that God works in mysterious ways. You have to really think about what He's trying to do. You can't be lazy and believe in God; He doesn't make it that easy. It takes spirit and faith and passion to really believe. Like most things worthwhile in life, you get back what you put into it.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Christmas Train
Why can't people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?
DAVID BALDACCI
The Camel Club
We lost family all the time, and we mourned them and buried them and remembered them. Wouldn't it be better to celebrate family while they are alive to a greater degree than when they are no longer with us?
DAVID BALDACCI
The Finisher
Life was not fair. If you wanted something you had to take it. Before someone else took it from you. Neatly dissected down to its essence, life was one long series of lily pad hoppings. The quick and the resourceful were able to adapt and survive; all others were simply crushed as a more nimble creature landed on the lily pad they had occupied for too long.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Winner
Two people can care for each other but not want the same things.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Christmas Train
Half truths were a wonderful way to inspire credibility.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Winner
Time doesn't really heal, it just makes you not to give a crap.
DAVID BALDACCI
Split Second
Life went on in Washington, much like it had for two hundred years. Factions were scattered everywhere, pouring money, massive intellects and established heavyweights into the business of politics, which essentially meant screwing others before they got around to screwing you.
DAVID BALDACCI
Absolute Power
The real worth of a person came from how he acted during the bad times.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Simple Truth
Nothing, absolutely nothing, was above corruption so long as human beings were involved.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Winner
Males. You have to lead them to the water and then show them how to slurp it.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Finisher
Listening is an underrated asset. People these days, they don't listen as much as they should. I read a lot, I travel a lot and I'm always listening.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Telegraph, November 16, 2015
At the end of a lifetime's worth of lights and nights, it seemed that family was really the only important thing there was. And yet how many of us truly appreciated that significance before our last breath left us?
DAVID BALDACCI
The Finisher
Depending on the situation, sometimes you can know a person better in ten minutes than someone you have crossed paths with all your life.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Simple Truth
I will never forget that the passing down of memories is the strongest link in the gossamer bridge that binds up as people.
DAVID BALDACCI
Wish You Well
The human spirit was the strongest medicine on earth. And sometimes all it needed was a little encouragement to pull off a miracle.
DAVID BALDACCI
The Forgotten