"Gold, or at least the prospect of it, saved him, then killed him."
- H.W. Brands
"Amid the war the capitalists were asserting national necessity."
"The males (of the Hutchinson family that included both religious dissenter Anne and immensely wealthy and politically connected Thomas) were merchants who sought salvation through commerce."
"Even when he played, he made a business of it."
"Grant made the perfect candidate, a war hero with indistinct views on most political issues."
"I believe my mother was smart enough to know that in the night, you are willing to tell all. If she waited until the next day, she knew she'd get one-syllable answers."
"The very lack of explicit pressure was itself a compelling force, for it created a world in which the expectation of success was simply there, a fact of life as basic as breakfast."
"There was so much – so many tests and tasks, so many tiny referenda."
"Employment was better than idleness for men, because it kept the enemy guessing."