His charm was not electric, but it was enveloping.

— H.W. Brands

His notes to the outside world offered a window on an active, sympathetic, eclectic mind.

— H.W. Brands

His was a quiet but persistent charisma.

— H.W. Brands

I believe my mother was smart enough to know that in the night, you are willing to tell all. If she waited until the next day, she knew she'd get one-syllable answers.

— H.W. Brands

I believe the road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master IN THAT LINE. I have no faith in the policy of scattering one's resources. Andrew Carnegie

— H.W. Brands

I can see that spark coming back when he talks about the future.

— H.W. Brands

In the immediate aftermath of the great Chicago fire, a business proprietor erected a shack in front of his burned-out business. On a sign, he placed his name and the tagline that everything was gone but wife, children, and energy.

— H.W. Brands

It is more important to me that my students come out of my class believing 'This story is interesting, and I might want to know more about it', than to fill them up with information. If I can remind them or convince them that history is interesting then I feel I have succeeded, because unlike chemistry or physics, history is a subject that anyone can teach themselves, if they are interested."[

— H.W. Brands

It may be that the voice of the people is the voice of God 51 times out of 100. But the remaining 49 times, it is the voice of the devil, or worse, the voice of a fool. Theodore Roosevelt

— H.W. Brands

It's philanthropy, but it's good politics, too. Mighty good politics. The poor are some of the most grateful people in the world. George Washington Puckett.

— H.W. Brands