--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many authors hate to go on grinding book…" description: "\"Many authors hate to go on grinding book tours. But I've always found it a useful way to be a foreign correspondent in America and take the pulse of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/thomas-friedman-1784_always_many-authors-hate-to-go-on-grinding-book_3154975.png" --- # Many authors hate to go on grinding book tours. But I've… ![“Many authors hate to go on grinding book tours. But I've always found it a useful way to be a foreign correspondent in America and take the pulse of the country.” quote by Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/thomas-friedman-1784_always_many-authors-hate-to-go-on-grinding-book_3154975.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/thomas-friedman-1784_always_many-authors-hate-to-go-on-grinding-book_3154975.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/thomas-friedman-1784_always_many-authors-hate-to-go-on-grinding-book_3154975.png) > “Many authors hate to go on grinding book tours. But I've always found it a useful way to be a foreign correspondent in America and take the pulse of the country.” [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He finds book tours useful for gathering insights about America, likening it to foreign correspondence. **In simple terms:** Book tours help him understand the country. Key Takeaway Use tours to gauge public sentiment. Themes travel journalism culture observation book tours Mood analytical strategic Type journalistic reflective When to use this quote - author events - media interviews - national pulse Key Concepts public sentiment analysis cultural immersion Questions to Reflect On - How can you broaden your perspective? - What other methods capture a nation’s pulse? A Different Perspective Tours can be time‑consuming and may not represent all voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Correspondent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correspondent/) [Correspondent America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correspondent-america-5679656/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign/) [Foreign Correspondent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-correspondent-623849/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Grinding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grinding/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Many](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/many/) [Pulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulse/) [Take](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take/) [Tours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tours/) [Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful/) [Useful Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful-way-3099534/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-foreign-2988366/) ## Related quotes > [The endeavor of being a foreign correspondent means that you will never be their equal. And that has its pros and cons. Were you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjan-sundaram/the-endeavor-of-being-a-foreign-correspondent-means-that-you-will/) [Anjan Sundaram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjan-sundaram/) > [My dad originally wanted to be a foreign correspondent before he got into politics. We have very similar personalities, so I think I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-huntsman/my-dad-originally-wanted-to-be-a-foreign-correspondent-before-he-got/) [Abby Huntsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-huntsman/) > [I did think that it'd be truly cool to be a foreign correspondent, and it was. There is a degree of freedom - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/i-did-think-that-it-d-be-truly-cool-to-be-a-foreign-correspondent-and/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [I'd gotten myself into a kind of journalism that wasn't really compatible with rearing an infant. I'd been a foreign correspondent for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/i-d-gotten-myself-into-a-kind-of-journalism-that-wasn-t-really/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [Conflict is part of being a foreign correspondent; spending long hours talking to politicians in capitals is another part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-farrell/conflict-is-part-of-being-a-foreign-correspondent-spending-long-hours/) [Stephen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-farrell/) > [It was Queen Elizabeth who made me a foreign correspondent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/it-was-queen-elizabeth-who-made-me-a-foreign-correspondent/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [It wasn't something I started off in my teens or early twenties thinking I want to be a war correspondent. I still don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-farrell/it-wasn-t-something-i-started-off-in-my-teens-or-early-twenties/) [Stephen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-farrell/) > [A foreign correspondent is someone who lives in foreign parts and corresponds, usually in the form of essays containing no new facts. Otherwise he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/a-foreign-correspondent-is-someone-who-lives-in-foreign-parts-and/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I work for a big newspaper, and I guess I'm an insider. I don't have the luxury of calling myself a foreign correspondent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-work-for-a-big-newspaper-and-i-guess-i-m-an-insider-i-don-t-have/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [I was a foreign correspondent in Berlin in the mid-'90s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/i-was-a-foreign-correspondent-in-berlin-in-the-mid-90s/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [A foreign correspondent, after talking to me for a while, once said: "You don't seem smart enough to be so good at what you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/a-foreign-correspondent-after-talking-to-me-for-a-while-once-said-you/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I think I'm still chewing on my years as a foreign correspondent. I found myself covering catastrophes - war, uprising, famine, refugee crises -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/i-think-i-m-still-chewing-on-my-years-as-a-foreign-correspondent-i/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [You can learn all about the human condition from covering the crime beat in a big city - you don't need to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/you-can-learn-all-about-the-human-condition-from-covering-the-crime/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“The foreign correspondent is frequently the only means of getting an important story told, or of drawing the world's attention to disasters in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/the-foreign-correspondent-is-frequently-the-only-means-of-getting-an/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I was hired at CNBC TV by a financial news anchor named Louis Rukeyser who had spent decades as a foreign correspondent in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-brennan/i-was-hired-at-cnbc-tv-by-a-financial-news-anchor-named-louis/) [Margaret Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-brennan/) ## More by Thomas Friedman > [I'm pretty much an open book. I am a fanatic golfer and golf nut. If I have three free hours any day, my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/i-m-pretty-much-an-open-book-i-am-a-fanatic-golfer-and-golf-nut-if-i/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [The financial crisis just made the hole deeper, which is why our stimulus needs to be both big and smart, both financially and educationally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/the-financial-crisis-just-made-the-hole-deeper-which-is-why-our/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Many jobs at Google require math, computing, and coding skills, so if your good grades truly reflect skills in those areas that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/many-jobs-at-google-require-math-computing-and-coding-skills-so-if/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Never before in the history of the planet have so many people, on their own, had the ability to find so much information about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/never-before-in-the-history-of-the-planet-have-so-many-people-on/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [When I was growing up, my parents told me, 'Finish your dinner. People in China and India are starving.' I tell my daughters, 'Finish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/when-i-was-growing-up-my-parents-told-me-finish-your-dinner-people-in/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/hillary-clinton-has-decided-to-line-up-with-john-mccain-in-pushing-to/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Two things are going on at the same time with the flattening of the world: The relentless quest for efficiency is squeezing some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/two-things-are-going-on-at-the-same-time-with-the-flattening-of-the/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Our president's latest energy initiative was to go to Saudi Arabia and beg King Abdullah to give us a little relief on gasoline prices.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/our-president-s-latest-energy-initiative-was-to-go-to-saudi-arabia/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [I don't think the Arab Spring had much to do with energy. I think it was just the opposite, in fact. I think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/i-don-t-think-the-arab-spring-had-much-to-do-with-energy-i-think-it/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Until we fully understand what turned two brothers who allegedly perpetrated the Boston Marathon bombings into murderers, it is hard to make any policy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/until-we-fully-understand-what-turned-two-brothers-who-allegedly/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Geopolitics is all about leverage. We cannot make ourselves safer abroad unless we change our behavior at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/geopolitics-is-all-about-leverage-we-cannot-make-ourselves-safer/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Big breakthroughs happen when what is suddenly possible meets what is desperately needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/big-breakthroughs-happen-when-what-is-suddenly-possible-meets-what-is/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [That's right-the striking thing about greenhouse gases is the diversity of sources that emit them. A herd of cattle belching can be worse than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/that-s-right-the-striking-thing-about-greenhouse-gases-is-the/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [There is something more severe than the problem with Thomas Friedman, which can be generalized to represent someone causing action while being completely unaccountable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/there-is-something-more-severe-than-the-problem-with-thomas-friedman/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Pessimists are usually right and optimists are usually wrong but all the great changes have been accomplished by optimists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/pessimists-are-usually-right-and-optimists-are-usually-wrong-but-all/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) [Explore all 208 Thomas Friedman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many authors hate to go on grinding book tours. 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