“They took it for more than it was, or anyhow for more than it said; the container was greater than the thing contained, and Lincoln became at once what he would remain for them, “the man who freed the slaves.”… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
Of all the passions of mankind, the love of novelty most rules the mind. In search of this, from realm to realm we roam.… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
“For my part I consider the central idea pervading this struggle is the necessity that is upon us of proving that popular government is not an absurdity. We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government whenever they choose. If we fail it will go far to prove… — Shelby Foote Copy Share
I think making mistakes and discovering them for yourself is of great value, but to have someone else to point out your mistakes is… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
I began the way nearly everybody I ever heard of - I began writing poetry. And I find that to be quite usual with… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
“He is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk but then insist on a… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
And I'm a slow writer: five, six hundred words is a good day. That's the reason it took me 20 years to write those… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
If you want to study writing, read Dickens. That's how to study writing, or Faulkner, or D.H. Lawrence, or John Keats. They can teach… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
I ran into Ku Klux Klan and the threat of hurricanes, and those two things made me decide not to build on the Alabama… — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
I took five years on the first volume, five years on the second volume, and ten years on the third volume. — Shelby Foote Copy Share Image
