Paul Fussell Quotes

In war it is not just the weak soldiers, or the sensitive ones, or the highly imaginative or cowardly ones, who will break down. All will break down if in combat long enough. “Long enough” is now defined by physicians and psychiatrists as between 200 and 240 days. For every frontline soldier in the Second […]

“I’ve got something to say. Tell them it’s too damned serious over here to be talking about hot dogs and baked beans and things we’re missing. Tell them it’s hell, and tell them there’re men getting killed and wounded every minute, and they’re miserable and they’re suffering. Tell them it’s a matter more serious than […]

I find nothing more depressing than optimism.

At the bottom, people tend to believe that class is defined by the amount of money you have. In the middle, people grant that money has something to do with it, but think education and the kind of work you do almost equally important. Nearer the top, people perceive that taste, values, ideas, style, and […]

Belonging to a rapidly changing rather than a traditional society, Americans find Knowing Where You Stand harder than do most Europeans. And a yet more pressing matter, Making It, assumes crucial importance here.