The writer must not invent. The legend on the license must read: NONE OF THIS WAS MADE UP.
John HerseyJournalism allows its readers to witness history; fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it.
John HerseyThere, in the tin factory, in the first moment of the atomic age, a human being was crushed by books.
John HerseyThe third stage was the reaction that came when the body struggled to compensate for its ills - when, for instance, the white count not only returned to normal but increased to much higher than normal levels.
John HerseyThe crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it not have material and spiritual evil as its consequences which far exceed whatever good might result? When will our moralists give us an answer to this question?
John HerseyTo be a writer is to sit down at one's desk in the chill portion of every day, and to write; not waiting for the little jet of the blue flame of genius to start from the breastbone - just plain going at it, in pain and delight. To be a writer is to throw away a great deal, not to be satisfied, to type again, and then again, and once more, and over and over...
John Hersey