Sam

“One unadvertised hazard in the life of a plutocrat is that the people around you can be prone to yes-man sycophancy. In theory, you should be able to avail yourself of state-of-the-art counsel. But instead, you often get lousy advice, because your courtiers are careful to tell you only what they think you want to hear. The danger, whether you are a billionaire executive or the president of the United States, is that you end up compounding this problem yourself, by marginalizing any dissenting voices and creating a bubble in which loyalty is rewarded above all else.”
― Patrick Radden Keefe, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

“History is neat. It is packaged, artificially broken up into epochs, and dissected remotely, both geographically and temporally, with the benefit of long hindsight. The reality of living through these turbulent times was much different. Matters are insidious. They build up over time, like small pieces of wood being chipped out of a supporting beam. Complexities and nuances are lost in the retelling of the story.”
― Richard Swan, The Tyranny of Faith

“Just a matter of time until Styria stands united.” He slid a metal flask from his inside pocket and unscrewed the cap. “Or until Orso sees sense, and offers me enough to change sides again.” She didn’t laugh. Perhaps she wasn’t meant to. “Maybe you should try sticking to one side or the other.” “Why ever would anyone do that?” Cosca raised his flask, took a sip and smacked his lips in satisfaction. “It’s a war. There is no right side.”
― Joe Abercrombie, Best Served Cold