A book unwritten is a delightful universe of infinite possibilities. Set down one word, however, and it immediately becomes earthbound. Set down one sentence, and it’s halfway to being just like every other bloody book that’s ever been written.

— Robert Harris

A ghost who has only a lay knowledge of the subject will be able to keep asking the same questions as the lay reader, and will therefore open up the potential readership of the book to a much wider audience.

— Robert Harris

And the great thing about money is that it doesn’t matter when you harvest it. It’s an all-year crop.

— Robert Harris

And then to my surprise in one of them I discovered the original manuscript of On Friendship. Puzzled, I unrolled it, thinking I must have brought it with me by mistake. But when I saw that Cicero had copied out at the top of the roll in his shaking hand a quotation from the text, on the importance of having friends, I realized it was a parting gift: If a man ascended into heaven and gazed upon the whole workings of the universe and the beauty of the stars, the marvelous sight would give him no joy if he had to keep it to himself. And yet, if only there had been someone to describe the spectacle to, it would have filled him with delight. Nature abhors solitude.

— Robert Harris

Brave words. Easy to write when one was young and death was still skulking over a distant hill somewhere... - Pg. 82

— Robert Harris

Civilization was a relentless war that man was doomed to lose eventually. - Pg. 195

— Robert Harris

Down in the cellar the Gestapo were licensed to practice was the Ministry of Justice called ‘heightened interrogation’. The rules had been drawn up by civilized men in warm offices, and they stipulated the presence of a doctor.

— Robert Harris

For them, it was just an ordinary miracle.

— Robert Harris

Having the urge to write a novel, especially if you've yet to be published, is like having a medical condition impossible to mention in polite company - it's a relief simply to know there are fellow-sufferers out there.

— Robert Harris

...he possessed for attractive form of courage: bravery of a nervous man. After all, any rash fool can be a hero if he sets no value on his life or hasn't the wit to appreciate the danger. But to understand the risks, perhaps even to flinch at first, but then summon the strength to face them down--that is my opinion is the most commendable for of value...

— Robert Harris