88 Quotes by Norman Davies

Nearly all interested parties think I write too shortly on the subjects that interest them most.

There is history in condoms, there is history in lampshades, there is history in everything.

I first heard of General Anders and his army more than 50 years ago. I admired him then, and I admire him still; and I feel a special bond with the men, women and children whom he rescued from hunger, disease, and official abuse. Theirs is a story of endurance and fortitude that gives one faith in the human spirit.

I wanted to produce a book that would demonstrate not only the rich diversity of people who answered to Anders's command but also the extraordinary variety of their experiences and emotions: from death to despair, fear and longings and eventually to hope.

The most noticeable thing about the Soviet collapse was that it followed a natural course.

Young people have to learn in a cocoon filled with false optimism. Unlike their parents and grandparents, they grow up with very little sense of the pitiless passage of time.

None of Europe's modern nations are genuinely native.