Authors From The United States

"You can and you can't—You shall and you shan't—You will and you won't—And you will be damned if you do—And you will be damned if you don't."

"Though ballet is my passion and dream, it would not be entirely fair to say that it saved me, without acknowledging the human beings who played major roles in saving my life. Some of these people I loved; others I detested. But if it were not for them, I would not have a life, let alone be a ballerina."

"Despite being told the 'world wasn’t ready for Black ballerinas' or that 'Black ballerinas weren’t worth investing in,' she (Michaela DePrince) remained determined, focused, and began making big strides."

"Her (Michaela DePrince) life was one defined by grace, purpose, and strength. Her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts, and her courage in overcoming unimaginable challenges will forever inspire us. She stood as a beacon of hope for many, showing that no matter the obstacles, beauty and greatness can rise from the darkest of places."

"Iesus in this very district receives the Nazarene Baptism of John; and must therefore be included among the Sabians. The New Testament expressly connects itself with the ‘Nazarene sect’ over the Jordan."

"How can Bangladesh deny its Hindu heritage? We were originally Hindus. Islam came later."

"An Australian wrote the following lines in a Melbourne newspaper concerning his recent travels in Japan: “While in a car with several Japanese officers, they were conversing about Australia, saying that it was a fine, large country, with great forests and excellent soil for the cultivation of rice and other products. The whites settled in Australia, so thought these officers, are like the dog in the manger. Some one will have to take a good part of Australia to develop it, for it is a pity to see so fine a country lying waste. If any ill-feeling arose between the two countries, it would be a wise thing to send some battleships to Australia and annex part of it.”"

"The black race has never shown real constructive power. It has never built up a native civilization. Such progress as certain negro groups have made has been due to external pressure and has never long outlived that pressure’s removal, for the negro, when left to himself, as in Haiti and Liberia, rapidly reverts to his ancestral ways. The negro is a facile, even eager, imitator; but there he stops. He adopts; but he does not adapt, assimilate, and give forth creatively again."

"[T]he basic factor in human affairs is not politics but race."

"The proselyting power of Islam is extraordinary, and its hold upon its votaries is even more remarkable. Throughout history there has been no single instance where a people, once become Moslem, has ever abandoned the faith. Extirpated they may have been, like the Moors of Spain, but extirpation is not apostasy. This extreme tenacity of Islam, this ability to keep its hold, once it has got a footing, under all circumstances short of downright extirpation, must be borne in mind when considering the future of regions where Islam is to-day advancing."

"The ethnic focus of the yellow world has always been China. Since the dawn of history this immense human ganglion has been the centre from which civilization has radiated throughout the Far East."

"To me the Great War was from the first the White Civil War, which, whatever its outcome, must gravely complicate the course of racial relations."

"I would say so. Now, I don't think that precludes the possibility that as ideas about God have evolved people have moved closer to something that may be the truth about ultimate purpose and ultimate meaning... Very early on, apparently, people started imagining sources of causality, imagining things out there making things happen. And early on there were shamans who had mystical experiences that even today a Buddhist monk would say were valid forms of apprehension of the divine or something. But by and large I think people were making up stories that would help them control the world."

"The Indians came closest to modem ideas of atomism, quantum physics, and other current theories. India developed very early, enduring atomist theories of matter. Possibly Greek atomistic thought was influenced by India, via the Persian civilization."

"Two thousand years before Pythagoras, philosophers in northern India had understood that gravitation held the solar system together, and that therefore the sun, the most massive object, had to be at its center."

"Yoga puts our experience of enlightenment at the exact center of our being. Though we may appear separate from one another, we are no more separate than the wave is separate from the sea, or than the air in a glass jar is separate from the surrounding air. We are pervaded by and animated by the same spirit, the same nature, and that nature is constant through the manifold changes of birth, growth, and dissolution; it cannot be wounded, or separated from itself."

"only with the development of a newly assertive Jewish feminism in all denominations of Judaism, as well as in secular culture and politics, has it been possible for many thousands of Jewish women throughout the country to join a proud Jewish identity with an equally vibrant female, and feminist, consciousness. This mutual enhancement has enabled the expression of a multiplicity of Jewish women's voices unparalleled during this century. (page 333)"

"In other contexts, I have written about the notion of "feminism as life process," suggesting that women's attempts to mold their destiny and achieve autonomy may take various directions at successive stages of life." I now understand that for the dozens of women whose stories are chronicled in this book, Judaism, too, was a life process. At different points in the life cycle, Jewish women-whatever their inherited traditions have chosen to identify with particular Jewish values or institutions in which they discover meaning. (Introduction)"

"it was not until I connected with Judaism within the feminist movement until I became a Jewish feminist that I found a meaningful way to be a Jew."

"Despite their numerically small representation in the American population, Jewish women have made major contributions to fiction, poetry, drama, film, and other popular arts. From the ghetto stories of Mary Antin and Anzia Yezierska to the pioneering modernism of Gertrude Stein; from the romances of Edna Ferber and Fannie Hurst to the biting realism of Tillie Olsen and Grace Paley; from the intense spirituality of Cynthia Ozick to the more secular feminism of Anne Roiphe, Jewish women novelists have probed the changing meanings of the Jewish female experience in America. The poetry of Muriel Rukeyser, Adrienne Rich, Marge Piercy, the plays of Wendy Wasserstein, the radio scripts of Fannie Brice and Gertrude Berg, and the songs and performances of Sophie Tucker demonstrate a similar linguistic and thematic inventiveness. Jewish women's contemporary accomplishments parallel their past achievements."

"Because narrative and memory remain the central instruments of Jewish community and identity, I believe that Jewish women today, vitally engaged in the project of remembering, constitute the most dynamic resource for the survival and continuity of Jewish life in America. I am hopeful that the next generation will find new meanings in the stories contained in this book. I am counting on these young women to retell and rediscover for themselves the manifold aspects of American Jewish women's lives that require us to bear witness. In so doing, they will become part of the cultural chain that carries forward the varieties of Jewish experience and identity."

"Civilization marches hand in hand with syphilis."

"All the Dracula films I've seen are literally bland compared to what Bram Stoker wrote in C.E.1897."

"Fred Saberhagen and James V. Hart, Bram Stoker's Dracula, translated by Bruno Amato, Sperling & Kupfer Editori S.p.A., C.E.1993."

"Stoker is the boring and inflexible director of the Lyceum Theatre. He writes an exceptionally erotic, oral and feverish tale that is avoided like the plague. So I would tell people to read it. Nobody reads the book in this town."

"The real historical Dracula was a knight who swore to protect the cross and church in C.E.1400. A charismatic hero for his people. He later turned into a bloodthirsty monster."

"Despite the character's darkness, Gary invested... Dracula was not simply to be feared, but also to be loved."

"Forgiveness is not a feeling,it’s a decision we make because we want to do what’s right before Gode."

"One of the greatest revelations of my life is: I can choose my thoughts and think things on purpose. In other words, I don’t have to just think about whatever falls into my mind"

"Just deciding to forgive isn’t enough because willpower alone won’t work,we need divine strength from God."

"You can suffer the pain of change or suffer remaining the way you are."

"I want you to know and really understand that anyone who has been abused can fully recover if they will give their life completely to Jesus."

"Praying for those who have hurt us is vital to successfully forgiving them."

"Unforgiveness finds excuses to talk about what people have done to us, and we’ll tell anyone who will listen."

"Self-righteous attitude is a sin that we can be blinded to because we’re so focused on what the other person did wrong."

"We didn’t have missteps, but when the book opens with the incident at the luncheon, we both thought it was horrible, but Marie thought it was more horrible than I did. … If Mary had to count and remember all the slights in her life, she wouldn’t have been able to move on."

"The most important thing an author can do is to be authentic, to be true to the times and the character - what the character would say and do. To be called “Black” during Mary’s time would have been an insult."

"Life is too short not to follow your dream. I liked working in finance, but I didn't love it. I have a passion for food."

"I have met some very helpful people who have mentored me over the years. I have friends who are editors, chefs, writers, and producers; they have made time for me and I am forever grateful."

"Some would say I was born into underprivileged circumstances. I think of it as a gift. It made me who I am today, and that is a woman who is committed to working hard, having a clear perspective, putting my family first and giving back."

"If it were not for the charity of others, I never could have provided for my siblings"

"I will tell you this, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing children winning awards and seeing the boost in confidence they get"

"We’re for all kids, but we make a point of trying to appeal to those with special needs, and not everyone is an athlete either. But everyone can learn how to barbecue."

"I know firsthand what a life-changing difference charitable organizations can make, especially to a child, because I was one of those children"

"They think they’re learning about barbecue, but it’s life skills, it’s a work ethic. It’s more than barbecue."

"[About giving in during a struggle session:] To betray yourself or others is to give away some part of what makes you truly human. It is to dehumanize yourself. It is to cut off a piece of your soul, and that is the part of you that honors others, that makes relationships trustworthy and loyal. That's the part that makes you trustworthy instead of craven. So when you fail, you make yourself less trustworthy. If you betray somebody, everybody else see you betray somebody for your own skin. You're craven and you damage all of your relationships. You become less trustworthy as a person. It's the part of you that makes you loyal. [...] They make you give that away. They don't take it from you. Pay attention. They make you give it away. So that you debase and demoralize yourself. So that you cut yourself off from your social circles. So that you undermine your worthiness. And that demorizes others who are disappointed in you when they see it happen. You make yourself less trustworthy, less loyal, less human, so that you can escape a psychological pressure that they are putting on you."

"Whether you're at the center or the periphery of a struggle session, you have to understand its dynamics, you have to understand its goals, and you have to understand what's going on. [...] It's so important to understand that we are in the midst of a Maoist insurgency against this country, against the West. These are its tactics, you can see who its players are, you can see how they work."

""While I undeniably cherish the various roles I play in my life, it became imperative for me to delve deeper into understanding who Tia, the individual, is and what brings happiness to her life"

"It signifies personal growth and the capacity to acquire knowledge and self-improvement."

"A major revelation for me was the recognition that I am in a perpetual state of evolution, and not only is this acceptable, but it's actually wonderful"