Harrison Salisbury Quotes & Sayings

The clash between the aspirations of the people for a better life and the insistence of their rulers on building a powerful state, regardless of human sacrifice, runs through the whole of Russian history — Harrison Salisbury

I wouldn't write any kind of book without a contract and an advance. You can't invest that amount of time and effort without one. — Harrison Salisbury

I think it's important to travel around in order to get a notion of what's going on, to find out what people are think about. I enjoy talking on campuses most because people are more informed and discussion is generally livelier. — Harrison Salisbury

I think that it is a great achievement to put a person on the moon. But to put a person on the earth-that is even more. — Harrison Salisbury

My favorite word is 'pumpkin.' You can't take it seriously. But you can't ignore it, either. It takes ahold of your head and that's it. You are a pumpkin. Or you are not. I am. — Harrison Salisbury

There is no shortcut to life. To the end of our days, life is a lesson imperfectly learned. — Harrison Salisbury

Here, class attendance is expected and students are required to take notes, which they are tested on. What is missing, it seems to me, is the use of knowledge, the practical training. — Harrison Salisbury

Journalism students need to understand it and need a solid background in the liberal arts, in sociology, economics, literature and language, because they won't get it later on. — Harrison Salisbury

Why can't a state that launches cosmonauts into space provide enough eggs and milk for its city children during the winter months? — Harrison Salisbury

I got a cable from New York saying that what I'd written about the growth of Soviet agricultural production didn't make sense because the same levels were reached under the czars. I wanted to confirm it, but by then the censors were on to me. — Harrison Salisbury

The newspaper is a marvelous medium. It is extraordinarily convenient and cheap. Let's see. This one cost 75 cents. Now that's a little high. I bought it when I was downtown this morning. — Harrison Salisbury

By the way, I understand that now you can have the Times delivered to your door here in the Twin Cities. — Harrison Salisbury

I visited the Chinese side last year. The Chinese are in a constant state of military readiness. They have all their nuclear weapons in the area, presumably trained on targets across the border. — Harrison Salisbury

No one can be certain where a nation which spans two continents, whose history begins in the faint traces of early civilization, a nation now struggling to find a new and valid philosophy of existence, will be propelled by the transcendental forces of the nuclear age. — Harrison Salisbury

Life within the Kremlin was shrouded in impenetrable secrecy. — Harrison Salisbury