The Charm School Quotes

“People who worry about what others think of them would be surprised at how little they did.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“There is a certain purity of the Russian soul, a fierce patriotism somewhat like our own and a half-assed belief which still lingers, that things will one day get better for them.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“The man had been fed empty calories for the brain all his life, and it was no wonder his intellect was malnourished.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“Hollis believed that the one fatal flaw in the Soviet system was not economic, political, or military, but informational. Soviet facts had replaced truth and reality.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“Oh, well, as a French philosopher once said, ‘People who worry about what others think of them would be surprised at how little they did.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“You know why. This thing is so big they’ll try to run it from there. Then State and the White House will get involved, and we’ll be getting micromanagement from one of those bozos in the basement of the White House. We’re the ones who risk our lives out here, Sam.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“How does that little rhyme go… ‘After two thousand years of masses, you’ve progressed to poison gasses?”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“It struck him that the world was full of professional snoops, and it was sad that Americans didn’t even trust Americans anymore.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“The least free people in a free society are people like us who have a sworn duty to defend the constitution.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“She laughed again. “You’re terrible. What are you going to complain about in the States?” “The quality of winter strawberries.” Hollis glanced at his watch.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“I curse the day I found God. My life has been a misery ever since.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“I want to remind you of the sterling performance of the State Department at Yalta and Potsdam, when your forebears gave Stalin everything but the west lawn of the White House. That’s why we’re in the goddamned mess we’re in now.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“Hollis considered the irony in this. American Jews were once thought politically unreliable by the CIA.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“You risked your life once in a war that had enough bombing limitation rules to make sure you didn’t hurt anyone but yourself.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“From a squalid izba to a space capsule—log cabin to the stars. You have to give these people credit where it’s due.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“Joe Smith had a Russian knocking on his door asking to be put up on the sly, Joe would be on the horn to the FBI in a flash. Joe does that because he thinks it’s right, not because he thinks the FBI will torture him if he doesn’t.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“I trust you’ll both keep in mind the political considerations that may arise as a result of this incident.” Alevy stood. “As a political affairs officer, that will be foremost in my mind, sir. Foremost.” “Splendid. Colonel Hollis?” Hollis remained seated and didn’t reply. “Colonel?” Hollis said to Banks, “Once I bombed only politically approved targets. We lost the war.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“No, I didn’t go to our language schools. My grandmother taught me Russian.” “Evelina Vasileva Putyatova?” “So, you were paying attention. Odd for a man.” “I’m a spy. I listen.” “And look and file things away. Anyway, my grandmother was a wonderful woman.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“Hollis said to Banks, “Once I bombed only politically approved targets. We lost the war.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“never ceased to amaze him how a discredited philosophy and a repressive nation still attracted idealists.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“Pravda, as you know, means ‘truth,’ and Izvestia means ‘news,’ and I’ve heard it said that there is no news in the Truth and no truth in the News.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“The sun has riz, and the sun has set, and here we is in Roosha yet.”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School

“USIS”
― Nelson DeMille, The Charm School