70 Quotes by Simon Winchester

We should all live in central or southwest Queensland in Australia, which is geologically stable. Or Kansas or Nebraska, because it's relatively geologically stable. I am sure there is no emergency plan for Topeka.

I find the science behind major natural events almost more interesting than the way in which those same events wreak their effects on human society.

I think they will never really enjoy true democracy in China.

I've come to accept who my readers turn out to be, rather than having some sort of demographic target.

Having been in the newspaper business for a long, long time, I often wonder, Why do we actually need to know about something like a bus crash in Bangladesh that has no effect on us at all? That can be nothing other than voyeurism.

I do as much bookish research as I can but when I sit down to write, often I think, 'Wait, I was there.' That is one of the great advantages of having wandered around the world and lived in so many places and met such fascinating people.

We kid ourselves that we're trying to be empathetic with the human condition from a distance, but I don't think that is it at all. It's stupid; it's a waste of time. But when the earth flexes its muscles, that's rather different. That's a powerful reminder of where we are.

I would argue that William Smith turned a lot of things on their head with this map, which was a hugely important and profound development,

Cement was a relatively new material at that time,