There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-- Man

In places this book is a little over-written, because Mr Blunden is no more able to resist a quotation than some people are to refuse a drink.

High sentiments always win in the end. The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.

Football, a game in which everyone gets hurt and every nation has its own style of play which seems unfair to foreigners.

He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.

Good prose should be transparent, like a window pane.

Sheer egoism... Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful businessmen - in short, with the whole top crust of humanity.