Shelby Foote

“A Southerner's memory is long.”

“Any understanding of this nation has to be based, and I mean really based, on an understanding of the Civil War.”

“A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library.”

“I think that the Civil War is one of the great sources of our country's woe, but also of our country's greatness.”

“Writing is a struggle against silence.”

“The Civil War was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.”

“A fact is not a truth until you love it.”

“I'm a novelist who spent 20 years writing a history.”

“Before the war, it was said 'the United States are.' After the war, it was 'the United States is.' That sums up what the war accomplished.”

“History is not a science; it's an art.”

“I abhor the idea of a perfect world. It would be the same boring place.”

“I think making mistakes is the biggest learning tool.”