John Stephens

“It has always seemed strange to me...The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.”
― John Steinbeck, Cannery Row

“Sometimes it takes courage—maybe all the courage you’ve got—to just live life.”
― Douglas Preston, The Lost Island

“quotation from Einstein: ‘The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.’ I would suggest to Dr. Chauncy that in combination, the two qualities are even more alarming.”
― Douglas Preston, Still Life With Crows

“How awful a knowledge of the truth can be.”
― Douglas Preston, Blue Labyrinth