John M. Merriman > Quotes

“To be an anarchist is to leave the beaten paths on which for hundreds of years generations of sheep have walked without reflection, break with routines, reject commonly held believes, be contemptuous of public opinion, have disdain for rejecting smiles and treacherous laughs, insults, and calomnies.”
― John Merriman, Ballad of the Anarchist Bandits: The Crime Spree that Gripped Belle Epoque Paris

“[I’ve] never written a thing without a record on.”
― John Merriman

“One of these photos stuck in my mind—that of elegant upper-class Parisians returning to the French capital after their armies had crushed the Paris Commune during Bloody Week (May 21–28, 1871). They applauded the terror organized by the French state, which had crushed Parisians aspiring to freedom.”
― John M. Merriman, Massacre: The Life and Death of the Paris Commune of 1871

“Further diffusing its authority, the Commune established executive commissions, the equivalent of ministries, each run by a delegate. Commissions were to convene twice a day at the Hôtel-de-Ville, and these long and increasingly contentious meetings often lasted well into the night and wasted considerable time discussing issues of little to no importance.”
― John M. Merriman, Massacre: The Life and Death of the Paris Commune of 1871

“What is life? ... You will think, you will struggle, you will be hungry.”
― John Merriman