“She's become a Russian again, he thought. When something works, she's grateful. When it doesn't work, it's life.” — John le Carré Copy Share Image
As our Governments spin, lie and lose their credibility, the electorate simply shrugs and looks the other way. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
For better or worse, I've been involved in the description of political conflict. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
If there is one eternal truth of politics, it is that there are always a dozen good reasons for doing nothing. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
I mean, you can't be less ruthless than the opposition simply because your government's policy is benevolent, can you now? — John le Carre Copy Share Image
It was a charming fantasy of romantics that the spies would stop spying, that political conflict would end and politicians would tell… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“I would say that since the war, our methods-out and those of the opposition-have become much the same. I mean you can't… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
How Bush and his junta succeeded in deflecting America's anger from bin Laden to Saddam Hussein is one of the great public… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
...in the hands of politicians grand designs achieve nothing but new forms of the old misery... — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“You can’t eat politics, you can’t sell them, and you can’t sleep with them,’ Drake liked to say. So you might as… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
For all the flailing and huffing and puffing, there is a kind of fatality about the process of war-making and the excuses… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
The cold war provided the perfect excuse for Western governments to plunder and exploit the Third World in the name of freedom;… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“You're history, Donohue. You think countries run the fucking world! Go back to fucking Sunday school. It's 'God save our multinational' they're singing these… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
When you're my age and you see a story, you better go for it pretty quickly. I'd just like to get a few more… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
The trouble is, when professional spies go out of their way to make a definitive statement about one of their own, the public tends… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
Ideologies have no heart of their own. They're the whores and angels of our striving selves. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“Pain observed is journalistic pain. It's diplomatic pain. It's television pain, over as soon as you switch off your beastly set.” — John le Carré Copy Share Image
The greatest threat to mankind comes from the renunciation of individual scruple in favor of institutional denominators. . . . Real heroism lies, as… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“and the wood smoke will roll out of the fireplace on to the carpet we paid too much for on that rainy afternoon in… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
“Middle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
