Gangsterland Book Quotes & Sayings

We cannot prevent the existence of unsatisfied desires in the hearts of men. We cannot satisfy these desires except by labor. We cannot deny the fact that man has as much repugnance for labor as he has satisfaction with its results. Since man has such characteristics, we cannot prevent the existence of a constant tendency among men to obtain their part of the enjoyments of life while throwing upon others, by force or by trickery, the burdens of labor. — Frederic Bastiat

There are realities we all share, regardless of our nationality, language, or individual tastes. As we need food, so do we need emotional nourishment: love, kindness, appreciation, and support from others. — J. Donald Walters

Just when you thought the mafia novel was dead, Tod Goldberg breathes new life into it. Gangsterland, the best mafia novel in years, is a dark, funny, and smart page-turning crime story. It's also a moving, thoughtful meditation on ethics, religion, family, and a culture that eats itself. I loved this book. — Sara Gran

She is not a cookie. Neither is she a biscuit, a PopTart, Sweet TART, apple tart, or any other kind of pastry. She is my apprentice. — Jim Butcher

The purpose of models is not to fit the data but to sharpen the question. — Samuel Karlin

I do not know what I think until I write it. — George Bernard Shaw

Tod Goldberg has long been one of the most interesting writers around, and Gangsterland is his biggest and best book so far. — Thomas Perry

From a spiritual perspective, each individual heart is a place where Divine love is expressed and experienced. That's what it's designed for. That love shows up in an unlimited number of shapes and sizes, colors and flavors. We are here to love, as big and as fearlessly as we possibly can. — Jeffrey R. Anderson

The readers of Isabel's journal were affected by the conversations within its covers-if nothing else, the livingroom of their moral imagination became bigger. And this must surely have some bearing on the way they dealt with the world, even in the small transactions of life: awareness of the pain of others here, a word of comfort there. Of course, the admission of kindness to one's life did not spring from any contimplation of the views of Hobbes (selfish Hobbes) and Hume (the good, generous Davey), but it did no harm to know about all of that. And that was where philosophy really did count: it set out the major choices behind all of those practical day-to-day questions of charity and understanding and simple decency; it was the weatherthe backdrop against which those practical matters were debated. — Alexander McCall Smith

Beauty is a harmonious relation between something in our nature and the quality of the object which delights us. — Blaise Pascal

There are symbolic dreams
dreams that symbolize some reality. Then there are symbolic realities
realities that symbolize a dream. Symbols are what you might call the honorary town councillors of the worm universe. In the worm universe, there is nothing unusual about a dairy cow seeking a pair of pliers. A cow is bound to get her pliers sometime. It has nothing to do with me. — Haruki Murakami

Creating festivals made a major impact on society in general because you couldn't draw large crowds indoors. At Newport we were soon drawing crowds of 10,000 and there weren't halls that could hold that many people. — George Wein