Quotes from Marathon Man

William Goldman ·  236 pages

Rating: (17.2K votes)


“What kind of human person has a favorite eraser?”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man


“I don't know that you'll understand this, but once upon a time, long ago, I was a scholar and a marathon man, but that fella's gone now, dead I suppose, but I remember something he thought, which was that if you don't learn the mistakes of the past, you'll be doomed to repeat them. Well we've been making a mistake with people like you, because public trials are bullshit and executions are games for winners - all this time we should have been giving back pain. That's the real lesson. That's the loser's share, just pain, pure and simple, pain and torture, no hotshot lawyers running around trying to see that justice is done. I think we'd have a nice peaceful place here if all you warmakers knew you better not start something because if you lost, agony was just around the bend. That's what I'd like to give you. Agony. Not what you're suffering now. I mean a lifetime of it, 'cause that's the only degree of justice I think we're ready for down here yet, and I know any humanist might disagree with me too, but I don't think you will, because you had a lot to do with educating me, I'm like you now, except I'm better at it, because you're going to die and I've still got a long way to go.”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man


“Groin' is a funny word," Babe said quietly. "I don't know the German for it, but I'm sure you do." He began to talk more quickly then, because he could tell Szell was starting to die. "Oh, maybe you didn't see it in the papers, but they've made this fabulous theological discovery, do you know what they've found? People don't go to heaven or hell, they all go to one spot first, sort of a way station, and that's were things happen, because, you probably won't believe this, but some people on this earth have been known to do bad things to other people, innocent people, and at this way station, the innocent people wait, and then when their savager comes, they get to exact a little portion of revenge. God says revenge is good for the soul. Do you know who's waiting for you, Mr. Szell? All the Jews. They're all there, and you know what else? They've all got drills, like you used on me - remember how you said how wonderful it was, anyone could learn that, how to use them? Well, they have and they're waiting, and I don't know about you, but I think it's gonna be terrific."

Szell was almost dead now, but Babe just had time to get it in.

Have a swell eternity," Babe said...”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man


“he looked as much like Karl as Cuddles Sakall resembled Argentina Rocca.”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man


“The main thing was to know the world, every twenty-five years or so, back for a couple hundred years, and if you had that info handy, always there under your belt, then you could figure out the gaps.”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man



“If you write movies, you never know who the enemy is. Someone is going to fuck you, that’s a given.”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man


“For the pedant, dates are deities, worthy of worship, but for the true social historian, they are minutiae only, a shorthand, convenient reminders and no more. You do not ask a Titanic survivor, ‘Let me see now, just exactly when was that?’ You ask him this: ‘What was it like? How did you feel?’ And that is the job of the social historian: to make the past vibrant for the present; to emotionally involve those of us who were not there. And to make us understand.”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man


“any experience is profitable if you allow it to be, all actions are profitable, no matter how badly you may suffer from them.”
― William Goldman, quote from Marathon Man


Video

About the author

William Goldman
Born place: in Highland Park, Illinois, The United States
Born date August 12, 1931
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“I saw you come out with him. He hurt you." "Everybody hurts everybody."
"No."
He said no, but I wondered how could he not see that.”
― Joshua Gaylord, quote from When We Were Animals


“So, are we still on tonight? For our dinner?” I asked.
“Hell, yes. We’re on for tonight. We’re on for tomorrow. We’re on for the foreseeable future.”
.”
― Ilona Andrews, quote from Wildfire


“Whether or not you are looking to house-train your German Shepherd Dog (GSD) or any other type of dog, this book will teach you the essentials of house-training your new puppy (or adult) dog without the need for "Crate Training" in a very easy and fun to read format. This book also serves as a photo-journal (with high-quality (HQ) high-definition (HD) picture on every page) documenting week by week the first few months of life of Sadie the German Shepherd Dog (GSD) Puppy (together with her dog friend Bad News Billy) that is suitable for children, and makes a very nice children's story-picture book for fans of German Shepherd Dogs (GSDs) of all ages.

By reading this book you will learn:

1.) How to house-train your dog without "Crate Training".
2.) How to know when to take your dog out to urinate/defecate.
3.) The four most important concepts for your dog to learn first before anything else.
4.) The three ways to get your dog to do as you say.
5.) The four reasons why your dog will not bite you.
6.) The two ways to control your dog's "Danger Area".
7.) The two ways to teach your dog new behaviors.
8.) Positive Reinforcement vs. Correction of Negative Behaviors.
9.) Which foods are safe and unsafe for your dog to eat.
10.) How to teach your dog hand-signals as silent commands.
11.) How to teach your dog to urinate/defecate upon command.

...and much more!”
― Yohai Reuben, quote from Sadie the German Shepherd Dog Puppy: How to House-Train your GSD without a Crate (Sadie the GSD)


“Soon there was only a tattered fragment of darkness, hanging in midair, the other side of the window. Fear caught my throat. The tattered fragment of darkness had a face. Looking at it, I understood the reason for my fear. The face was my own.”
― Elie Wiesel, quote from Dawn


“They used a bazooka to shoot the Warrior Angel, it was spectacular ineffective.”
― Peter F. Hamilton, quote from A Night Without Stars


Interesting books

The Life of Samuel Johnson
(2.8K)
The Life of Samuel J...
by James Boswell
Cage of Stars
(5K)
Cage of Stars
by Jacquelyn Mitchard
To Beguile a Beast
(10.7K)
To Beguile a Beast
by Elizabeth Hoyt
The Death of Artemio Cruz
(7.4K)
The Death of Artemio...
by Carlos Fuentes
Stranger than Fiction
(20.6K)
Stranger than Fictio...
by Chuck Palahniuk
True
(9.8K)
True
by Laurann Dohner

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.