“When Sarah and Maynard Clover brought their seventh child into the world on September 12, 1896, they were evidently at a loss for a name.” Melissa L. Sevigny, Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon.
“It was hot. When Alice and Emma, the two white ducks, got tired of diving and swimming about the pond, they climbed out on the bank and looked over toward the house where Mr. Bean, the farmer, lived, and: ‘Oh!’ said Emma, ‘the house looks as if it was melting.’” Walter R. Brooks, Freddy the Detective.
“The free individual has long dominated the American political imagination.” Alex Zakaras, The Roots of American Individualism: Political Myth in the Age of Jackson.
“Shrill sounds split the air.” Susan Moore Jordan, The Case of the ‘Carousel’ Killer.
“People love dead Jews. Living Jews, not so much.” Dara Horn, People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present.
“I bet you didn’t know that bleach masks the smell of blood.” Oyinkan Braithwaite, My Sister, The Serial Killer.
“Samuel Adams delivered what may count as the most remarkable second act in American life.” Stacy Schiff, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams.
“The Titans were gone.” Jane Gardam, Last Friends.
“The connections between mathematics and poetry are profound.” Sarah Hart, Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connection Between Mathematics and Literature.
“Ask any Negro. They’ll tell you: a woman does not play a saxophone.” Charlotte Carter, Rhode Island Red.
“It was one of the early days of the third millennium after Christ.” Mustafa Akyol, The Islamic Jesus: How the Kings of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims.
“Let me tell you about desert people.” Ruchika Tomar, A Prayer for Travelers.
“In the late spring of 1912, the graceful yacht Enchantress put out to sea from rainy Genoa for a Mediterranean pleasure cruise—a carefree cruise without itinerary or time-schedule.” David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East.
“‘Hell is empty, Armand,’ said Stephen Horowitz.” Louse Penny, All the Devils are Here.
“We live in the age of disinformation.” Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer, Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past.
