Abilene possessed greater vision, perhaps because it possessed little else.

— H.W. Brands

Accustomed to motion, he was forced to be still.

— H.W. Brands

A live-in domestic worker: "You are never sure that your soul is your own except when you are out of the house.

— H.W. Brands

America's mission is to join the most ancient civilizations with the most modern. John Augustus Robin

— H.W. Brands

Amid the war the capitalists were asserting national necessity.

— H.W. Brands

Andrew Carnegie was an inventor only in the sense that he adopted and adapted the discoveries of others.

— H.W. Brands

A young Mark Twain on the make: "I can't turn in inkstand into Aladdin's lamp.

— H.W. Brands

Ben Franklin advises his grandson not to let even the American Revolution interrupt his studies, urging of young adulthood, "This is the time of life in which you are to lay the foundations of your future improvement and of your importance among men. If this season is neglected, it will be like cutting off the spring from the year.

— H.W. Brands

Both sides had more confidence in their opponents' weaknesses than their own strength.

— H.W. Brands

Bushes may not be eloquent explaining emotion, but George HW Bush's mother knew enough to be in position with her children were ready to talk. She waited up not just to ensure safety but to make the most of the moment of excited emotions. The next morning, they would congeal into polite, one-word answers.

— H.W. Brands