The Winds of War (The Henry Family, #1)

by Herman Wouk

“All it takes now is one false move,” said Pug dryly, shaking his head, “one piece of bad luck, one mislaid dispatch, one helmsman doping off on the midwatch. You’re never out front till you retire.”

An investment of more than twenty-five years of love and intimacy—even if it has gone slightly sour—usually should not be liquidated. Its equivalent in romance, in thrills, or even money, can seldom be recovered.

It’s occurred to me that our human values, our ideas of right and wrong, good and bad, evolved in simpler times, before there were machines.

The President spoke lightly. But the ring in his cultured voice, the self-satisfied tilt of his head, the regal way he held the arms of his chair and smiled at Captain Henry, showed his relish for power and his satisfaction in bestowing largesse.

Roosevelt liked him because he was knowledgeable, got things done, and kept his mouth shut.

“When you talk, I understand you.”