--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The book that really, really shaped my…" description: "\"The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's \"Darkness at Noon,\" which is a novel based on terrible fact about ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/nat-hentoff-1615_arthur_the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-po_106639.png" --- # The book that really, really shaped my politics and has… ![“The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," which is a novel based on terrible fact about what it was like in Russia during Stalin's time when people actually believed that to get to the point where the Proletariat would triumph…” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/nat-hentoff-1615_arthur_the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-po_106639.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/nat-hentoff-1615_arthur_the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-po_106639.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/nat-hentoff-1615_arthur_the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-po_106639.png) > “The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," which is a novel based on terrible fact about what it was like in Russia during Stalin's time when people actually believed that to get to the point where the Proletariat would triumph, anything that was necessary to be done should be done; the means didn't count.” [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Koestler’s novel illustrates how extremist ideology can justify any means, showing the danger of ends‑justify‑the‑means thinking. **In simple terms:** Ends can corrupt means under fanaticism. Key Takeaway Ideology can erase moral limits. Themes politics ethics totalitarianism Mood cautionary thought‑provoking Type literary historical When to use this quote - studying extremist movements - teaching civic responsibility - evaluating policy trade‑offs Key Concepts moral relativism psychology of belief Practical Applications - critically assess political narratives - promote ethical decision‑making frameworks Questions to Reflect On - When do means become unacceptable? - How can societies guard against ideological excess? A Different Perspective Literary examples may oversimplify complex historical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Proletariat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proletariat/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) ## Related quotes > [“In Russia, Stalin ordered Soviet scientists to prove that communism creates unselfish people, a trait which then could be inherited over generations until a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-russia-stalin-ordered-soviet-scientists-to-prove-that-communism/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ I was less angry at \[Carl\] Armstrong, though I was angry at the people who came to his trial: Dan Ellsberg, who ordinarily I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-was-less-angry-at-carl-armstrong-though-i-was-angry-at-the-people/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ \[Arthur Koestler\] wrote some other very interesting books, but that book - I mean, if I were teaching, I don't care what the course… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/arthur-koestler-wrote-some-other-very-interesting-books-but-that-book/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [“What had he said to them? "I bow my knees before the country, before the masses, before the whole people…" And what then? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/what-had-he-said-to-them-i-bow-my-knees-before-the-country-before-the/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [“Though Rousseau writes about the General Will in terms of liberty, it is essentially an authoritarian instrument, an early adumbration of Lenin’s ‘democratic centralism’.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/though-rousseau-writes-about-the-general-will-in-terms-of-liberty-it/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [There are books like Darkness at Noon, which from the prose standpoint I don't think is a perfect book. It has flaws. But for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bezmozgis/there-are-books-like-darkness-at-noon-which-from-the-prose-standpoint/) [David Bezmozgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bezmozgis/) > [“...The arbitrary power of the Government is unlimited, and unexampled in history; freedom of the Press, of opinion and of movement are as thoroughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-arbitrary-power-of-the-government-is-unlimited-and-unexampled-in/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [“For in a struggle one must have both legs firmly planted on the earth. The Party had taught one how to do it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/for-in-a-struggle-one-must-have-both-legs-firmly-planted-on-the-earth/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [One always imagines that the days that change one’s life must be marked with something extraordinary in nature—storms and lightning, darkness at noon, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george/one-always-imagines-that-the-days-that-change-one-s-life-must-be/) [Margaret George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george/) > ['Daddy used to be a Georgian,' Stalin's son, Vasily, once said. Actually, the dictator didn't truly become Russian; he remained Georgian culturally. Yet he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/daddy-used-to-be-a-georgian-stalin-s-son-vasily-once-said-actually/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [“To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed ... there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/to-choose-one-s-victims-to-prepare-one-s-plans-minutely-to-slake-an/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“Stalin is one of the most extraordinary figures in world history. He began as a small clerk, and he has never stopped being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/stalin-is-one-of-the-most-extraordinary-figures-in-world-history-he/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“You are not that kind of man Pekkala. You are not the monster that your enemies once believed you to be. If you were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-eastland/you-are-not-that-kind-of-man-pekkala-you-are-not-the-monster-that/) Sam Eastland > [“Find the crime, Arkady thought: trying to kill Stalin or missing him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cruz-smith/find-the-crime-arkady-thought-trying-to-kill-stalin-or-missing-him/) [Martin Cruz Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cruz-smith/) > [Stalin's methods did not help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastas-mikoyan/stalin-s-methods-did-not-help/) [Anastas Mikoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastas-mikoyan/) ## More by Nat Hentoff > [My parents were Orthodox Jews but not very regular Orthodox Jews. I was bar mitzvahed and all that. But God was hardly ever mentioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-parents-were-orthodox-jews-but-not-very-regular-orthodox-jews-i/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [There are enough people who are starting to be actively involved that we can turn things around. And we need to encourage others to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/there-are-enough-people-who-are-starting-to-be-actively-involved-that/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ \[Margot Hentoff\] thinks - first of all, she - this I hear from a lot of people beside her. She thinks that men have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/margot-hentoff-thinks-first-of-all-she-this-i-hear-from-a-lot-of/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [My father was pretty independent. He was - he was arrested once in Nashville when he was on one of his sales trips because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-father-was-pretty-independent-he-was-he-was-arrested-once-in/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ My chronology is terrible. \[Work with William Shawn\] must have some ago. It was after he was fired by Newhouse. After New - when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-chronology-is-terrible-work-with-william-shawn-must-have-some-ago/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ We disagree heavily on abortion \[with Margot Hentoff\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/we-disagree-heavily-on-abortion-with-margot-hentoff/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Now that is dangerous, when the people don't know what's happening to their Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/now-that-is-dangerous-when-the-people-don-t-know-what-s-happening-to/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ \[My wife Margot\] was the - I guess, the coordinator or the production manager \[of The Jazz Review\], and we got to know each… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-wife-margot-was-the-i-guess-the-coordinator-or-the-production/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I have I guess 3 passions. One is the Constitution. The other is jazz and the other is being an atheist prolifer which, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-have-i-guess-3-passions-one-is-the-constitution-the-other-is-jazz/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [If the American people have their health care paid for by the government, depending on their age and their condition, they will be subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/if-the-american-people-have-their-health-care-paid-for-by-the/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ \[A.J. Muste\] was - he - I don't know what he finally came out believing in, but it was some kind of higher being. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/a-j-muste-was-he-i-don-t-know-what-he-finally-came-out-believing-in/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [That is what is happening with the Tea Parties. I wrote a column called "The Second American Revolution" about the fact that people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/that-is-what-is-happening-with-the-tea-parties-i-wrote-a-column/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I read like everybody - like every other writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-read-like-everybody-like-every-other-writer/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ Margot \[Hentoff\] dislikes Bill Clinton because he's totally untrustworthy, and you really ought to have some faith in whoever's going to be your president. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/margot-hentoff-dislikes-bill-clinton-because-he-s-totally/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [A particular moment - and I'm not, to this day, quite sure how I feel about it - I had always wanted to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/a-particular-moment-and-i-m-not-to-this-day-quite-sure-how-i-feel/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) [Explore all 222 Nat Hentoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) ## More Arthur quotes > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Merlin' was awesome, but the costumes would drive you insane. Every day, you'd get into chain mail and wear 30 pounds of that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macken/merlin-was-awesome-but-the-costumes-would-drive-you-insane-every-day/) [Eoin Macken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macken/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [A guy called Arthur Brown... was a big influence of mine... and also Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/a-guy-called-arthur-brown-was-a-big-influence-of-mine-and-also-ian/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [I have a sense of them being Easter religions, for some reason. Christianity, of course, is a mystery religion, too, and I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-have-a-sense-of-them-being-easter-religions-for-some-reason/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [And then, all of a sudden, you're like, all that's great and fun, but Arthur Miller's in my dressing room. This is the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/and-then-all-of-a-sudden-you-re-like-all-that-s-great-and-fun-but/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [For five hundred dollars, I'll name a subatomic particle after you. Some of my satisfied customers include Arthur C. Quark and George Meson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-five-hundred-dollars-i-ll-name-a-subatomic-particle-after-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Arthur Conan Doyle was entranced by the notion of a brilliant detective who can deduce everything a stranger has been up to from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-yglesias/arthur-conan-doyle-was-entranced-by-the-notion-of-a-brilliant/) [Rafael Yglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-yglesias/) > [“That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/that-boy-had-wanted-to-be-ser-arthur-dayne-but-someplace-along-the/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Since I came here I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man and the President of the United States is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-a-arthur/since-i-came-here-i-have-learned-that-chester-a-arthur-is-one-man-and/) [Chester A. Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-a-arthur/) > [“In the energies of the Green Knight, we have an Elder who comes to the entire court of Arthur to challenge and "open a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-chandler/in-the-energies-of-the-green-knight-we-have-an-elder-who-comes-to-the/) [Virginia Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-chandler/) > [“AT&T developed cross-country systems of microwave relay towers, which marched across the countryside from coast to coast and border to border, every 20 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-t-developed-cross-country-systems-of-microwave-relay-towers-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now that Marilyn Monroe is kosher, Arthur Miller can eat her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-levant/now-that-marilyn-monroe-is-kosher-arthur-miller-can-eat-her/) [Oscar Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-levant/) > [You don't have to believe that there was a King Arthur to get the significance of those stories, but Christians say we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-don-t-have-to-believe-that-there-was-a-king-arthur-to-get-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Prison is a severe and terrible punishment; but for me, thanks to Arthur Balfour, this was not so. I was much cheered on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/prison-is-a-severe-and-terrible-punishment-but-for-me-thanks-to/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) Browse all 340 Arthur quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's \"Darkness at Noon,\" which is a novel based on terrible fact about what it was like in Russia during Stalin's time when people actually believed that to get to the point where the Proletariat would triumph, anything that was necessary to be done should be done; the means didn't count.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nat Hentoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arthur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/nat-hentoff-1615_arthur_the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-po_106639.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/nat-hentoff-1615_arthur_the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-po_106639.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/nat-hentoff-1615_arthur_the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-po_106639.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's \"Darkness at Noon,\"…” — Nat Hentoff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nat Hentoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The book that really, really shaped...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```