Quotes from Fields of Fire

James Webb ·  496 pages

Rating: (4.5K votes)


“If they didn't want to know, they shouldn't have asked.”
― James Webb, quote from Fields of Fire


“You know what we've lost, William? We've lost a sense of responsibility, at least on the individual level. We have too many people like Mark who believe that the government owes them total, undisciplined freedom. If everyone thought that way, there would be no society. We're so big, so strong now, that people seem to have forgotten that a part of our strength comes from each person surrendering a portion of his individual urges to the common good. And the common good is defined by who wins at the polls, and the policies they make. Like it or lump it.”
― James Webb, quote from Fields of Fire


“My war is not as simple as yours was, Father. People seem to question their obligation to serve on other than their own terms. But enough of that. I fight because we have always fought. It doesn't matter who.”
― James Webb, quote from Fields of Fire


“You know what we’ve lost, William? We’ve lost a sense of responsibility, at least on the individual level. We have too many people like Mark who believe that the government owes them total, undisciplined freedom. If everyone thought that way, there would be no society. We’re so big, so strong now, that people seem to have forgotten that a part of our strength comes from each person surrendering a portion of his individual urges to the common good. And the common good is defined by who wins at the polls, and the policies they make. Like it or lump it.”
― James Webb, quote from Fields of Fire


“He sensed that it was all here, everything, and there was none of it there. All of life's compelling throbs, condensed and honed each time a bullet flew: the pain, the brother-love, the sacrifice. Nobility discovered by those who'd never even contemplated sacrifice, never felt an emotion worth their own blood on someone else's altar.”
― James Webb, quote from Fields of Fire



“I just look at you and say, ‘that used to be me. But it isn't anymore.”
― James Webb, quote from Fields of Fire


“Well, what kind of hello is that? Besides. You wouldn't want me as a supply officer, Bagger. I'd fuck it up so bad you'd starve.”
― James Webb, quote from Fields of Fire


About the author

James Webb
Born place: in Saint Joseph, MO, The United States
Born date February 9, 1946
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“She was a diamond in a quarry full of quartz.”
― quote from The Crown's Game


“Obviously he’s courting the entire family,” West told her. “I can’t speak for everyone else, but I for one feel thoroughly wooed.”
― Lisa Kleypas, quote from Marrying Winterborne


“humanity has no hope of survival unless religion is wiped out.”
― S.L. Bhyrappa, quote from Aavarana - The Veil


“I would have done anything. Anything to get back to you. I can’t say I’m sorry for that.”
― Madeleine Urban, quote from Cut & Run


“Close your eyes, real tight, and then count to three hundred. That’s all you have to do. You just count to three hundred, and when you open your eyes, five minutes will have passed. And even if it hurts or things are shitty or you don’t know what to do, you just made it through five whole minutes. And when it feels like you can’t go on, you just close your eyes and do it again. That’s all you need. Just five minutes at a time.”
― Emma Mills, quote from First & Then


Interesting books

Champion
(134.9K)
Champion
by Marie Lu
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
(76.3K)
One Day in the Life...
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Jitterbug Perfume
(57.8K)
Jitterbug Perfume
by Tom Robbins
Prodigal Summer
(83.8K)
Prodigal Summer
by Barbara Kingsolver
Glass Houses
(84.7K)
Glass Houses
by Rachel Caine
Corelli's Mandolin
(68.1K)
Corelli's Mandolin
by Louis de Bernières

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.