To be a writer is to sit down at one's desk in the chill portion of every day, and to write; not waiting for the little jet of the blue flame of genius to start from the breastbone - just… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
To be a writer is to throw away a great deal, not to be satisfied, to type again, and then again and once more, and over and over. — John Hersey Copy Share Image
When the writing is really working, I think there is something like dreaming going on. I don't know how to draw the line between… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
Learning starts with failure; the first failure is the beginning of education. — John Hersey Copy Share Image
The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
“Mankind must destroy anti-humanity before it becomes extinct itself.” — John Hersey Copy Share Image
“This private estate was far enough away from the explosion so that its bamboos, pines, laurel, and maples were still alive, and the green… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
And, as if nature were protecting man against his own ingenuity, the reproductive processes were affected for a time; men became sterile, women had… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
To my great surprise, I never heard anyone cry out in the disorder, even though they suffered in great agony. They died in silence,… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
“…she looked like Vivien, the Lady of the Lake, only she was fat and her lake was dust, sand and dust, bones and dust… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
The writer must not invent. The legend on the license must read: NONE OF THIS WAS MADE UP. — John Hersey Copy Share Image
Journalism allows its readers to witness history; fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it. — John Hersey Copy Share Image
The third stage was the reaction that came when the body struggled to compensate for its ills - when, for instance, the white count… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
The first stage had been all over before the doctors even knew they were dealing with a new sickness; it was the direct reaction… — John Hersey Copy Share Image
