I've always tried to be fair to my subjects. That's easy when they are as likable and admirable as Lewis and Clark, or Eisenhower.

In the 19th century, we devoted our best minds to exploring nature. In the 20th century, we devoted ourselves to controlling and harnessing it. In the 21st century, we must devote ourselves to restoring it.

In 1945, there were more people killed, more buildings destroyed, more high explosives set off, more fires burning than before or since.

Winning the Revolutionary War, or the Civil War, or World War II were the turning points in our history, the sine qua non of our forward progress.

My first book was the book that changed my life.

Reading your own material aloud forces you to listen.

I'm no politician. I'm an historian who has learned through a lifetime of studying that nothing in the world beats universal education.