Douglas Brinkley Quotes

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Douglas Brinkley

Profession : Author

Birth : December 14, 1960

Unfortunately, one of the biggest misperceptions the American public harbors is that Katrina was a week-long catastrophe. In truth, it's better to view it as an era.

Douglas Brinkley

If you're a Kennedy and you go to Italy or you go to Argentina, you're treated as royalty. And in the United States, we're endlessly fascinated by the family.

Douglas Brinkley

Animals interest me more than anything else.

Douglas Brinkley

It is a long revisionist road up from the bottom for George W. Bush. He is ranked toward the bottom rung of presidents.

Douglas Brinkley

There is nobody that's ever going to fill Ted Kennedy's shoes, and that's a tall order for somebody in the family to try to live up to.

Douglas Brinkley

When I was 8 years old, I made my own encyclopedia of American biography - Johnny Appleseed, Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Charles Lindbergh, my pantheon of favorite heroes. Then I would write my own things and sew them together and try to make my own book.

Douglas Brinkley

I feel like I'm always learning from people.

Douglas Brinkley

I have a lot of books I want to write.

Douglas Brinkley

John Kerry can be absolutely ruthless. I would not want to be on his enemies list when he's ready to go after you.

Douglas Brinkley

John Kerry doesn't think in terms of black-and-white. He's all gray, and he looks at all sides of the issues. That makes people think he likes to be devil's advocate. Whatever you say, he'll challenge you on.

Douglas Brinkley

John Kerry wants to be the hero in his own drama. He likes King Arthur and the Round Table. He likes the young swashbuckling Churchill, and he loved the early antics of Theodore Roosevelt.

Douglas Brinkley

Demeanor-wise, Reagan was a conservative, but a pragmatic conservative, and he found silver linings in things. He liked to be a mediator. He didn't like to have enemies around him.

Douglas Brinkley

Politicians wanted to mine the Grand Canyon for zinc and copper, and Theodore Roosevelt said, 'No.'

Douglas Brinkley

Ever since Willie Nelson brought rednecks into an alliance with hippies back in the psychedelic '70s, Austin has milked its quirky libertarian spirit for a worldwide bonanza of free publicity.

Douglas Brinkley

President Obama had a few historians at the White House for a couple of dinners. I was lucky enough to be one of those asked, and he was very interested in Ronald Reagan, and I came away feeling that.

Douglas Brinkley

Richard Kerry not only was a pilot in World War II, but was a civil servant. He did not come from money.

Douglas Brinkley

John Kerry only went to prep schools because he had an aunt who had the money to pay for his way into those prep schools.

Douglas Brinkley

To Armstrong, constantly speaking about 'Apollo 11' only diminished the magic. That's why he worked overtime to avoid notice, living a quiet life in Indian Hill, Ohio.

Douglas Brinkley

What I was most curious about was why Armstrong, a top U.S. Navy test pilot, flying the most advanced aircraft in the world, would want to join the astronaut corps in 1962, which included chimpanzees and monkeys.

Douglas Brinkley

Nobody has trusted the Iranian government from day one, but the idea of just refusing to have any kind of talks is dangerous in the extreme. Every administration says at least that we're trying to have talks between Israel and Palestine and solve the Middle East peace problem.

Douglas Brinkley