stuka pilot

is an excellent book by Hans Ulrich Rudel (isbn 978-1908476876). As usual I'm going to quote from a few pages:

He tells me that a large scale offensive is in preparation in my sector... approximately three hundred tanks are to be employed in this operation... The number three hundred flabbergasts me... I reply that I find some difficulty in believing it... He says to me, half in earnest, half in jest: "If I didn't know you, for two pins I would have you put under arrest for saying such a thing. But we will soon find out." He goes to the telephone and is connected with the Chief of the General Staff. "You have just given the Fuhrer the figure of three hundred tanks for operation X." "Yes I did." "I want to know the names of the divisions concerned with their present strength in tanks. I have somebody with me who is well acquainted with the position." ... the Chief of the General Staff has the bad luck to begin with the 14th armoured division. He says it has sixty tanks. Goering can hardly contain himself. "My man reports that the 14th has one!" A lengthy silence at the other end of the line. "When did he leave the front?" "Four days ago." Again silence. Then "Forty tanks are still on their way to the front. The rest are in repair shops on the line of communications, but will certainly reach their units by zero day, so that the figures are correct." He has the same answer for the other divisions. The Reichsmarschall slams down the receiver in a rage. "That is how it is!" The Fuhrer is given a totally false picture based on incorrect data and is surprised when operations do not have the success expected... The South Eastern zone with its network of communications is being incessantly blanketed by the enemy's bomber formations. Who knows how many of those forty tanks, for example, will ever reach the front or when? Who can say if the repair shops will get their spare parts in time and if they will be able to complete their repairs within the specified time?

In ministries and departments, however, mistakes are denied on principle.

Another confirmation of the truth of our old Stuka maxim: "Nothing comes off - except what you have practised."

We have long since ceased to develop practice from theory; we do just the opposite.

The fitters have their hands full, for the aircraft have been heavily damaged by flak. The life of such an aeroplane will always be limited.

Little by little I discover all the tricks. Skill is often the result of getting hurt.

I now see that perfectly plainly. We are alone to possess this knowledge; the responsibility is ours.

Just one more thing

is an excellent book by Peter Falk (isbn 978-0-099-50955-4). As usual I'm going to quote from a few pages

My object is to keep you awake.

I didn't stay in college the full four years. I quit after three months and joined the Merchant Marines. Men with one eye were not drafted and in the Merchant Marines they were not allowed to work on deck or below deck, but they could work in the kitchen. I sailed out as third cook. My specialty was pork chops.

About the third time I was late, even before I hit my seat, LaGallienne froze me with a question: "Why are you always late?" I said I had to drive down from Hartford. She asked coldly, "What do you do there? There are no theatres in Hartford. How do you make a living?" I told the truth. "I'm not an actor." She snapped back "Well you should be, now sit down."

I remember vividly that particular performance when for the first time I was suddenly startled by a new totally unexpected sound - a rich, deep authentic snore. Holy jamolies. There is someone on this stage that is sleeping - really sleeping.

I have never been arrested in the United States but I have been arrested in Paris, Moscow, Havana, Genoa, Belgrade, and Trieste.

Did he want to be buried or cremated? His answer to them was brief - "Surprise me."

"Here and there you'll find a raisin."

I was struck very early by the dramatic possibilities of playing a man who housed within himself two opposite traits.

For me The Princess Bride was a movie without a blemish, perfect for both kids and adults.

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr

is an excellent book edited by Clayborne Carson (isbn 978-0-349-11298-5). As usual I'm going to quote from a few pages:

I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.

Capitalism is always in danger of inspiring men to be more concerned with making a living than making a life.

Gandhi resisted evil eight as much vigour and power as the violent resister, but he resisted with love instead of hate.

We'd better decide now if we are going to be fearless men or scared boys.

I realised that this speech had evoked more response than any speech or sermon I had ever delivered, and yet it was virtually unprepared. I came to see for the first time what the older preachers meant when they said, "Open your mouth and God will speak for you."

We came to see that, in the long run, it is more honourable to walk in dignity than ride in humiliation.

Gandhi was able to mobilise and galvanise more people in his lifetime than any other person in the history of this world.

A tender heart and a tough mind.

Justice too long delayed is justice denied.

A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.

It is a climate where men cannot disagree without being disagreeable.

The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy.

Accordingly, each situation has to be studied in detail;… Nevertheless, we had to begin a march without knowing when or where it would actually terminate.

I refuse to determine what is right by taking a Gallop poll of the trends of the time… Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

Gandhi an autobiography

is an excellent book (isbn 978-0-141-03273-3). As usual I'm going to quote from a few pages:

All his life he held to two fundamental principles, a belief in Ahimsa, or non-violence, and the concept of Satya, or truth; as he said: 'My uniform experience has convinced me that there is no other God than Truth.'

Renunciation of objects, without the renunciation of desires, is short-lived, however hard you may try.

Jealousy does not wait for reasons.

I had been advised to collect certificates of my having abstained from meat, and I asked the English friend to give me one. He gladly gave it and I treasured it for some time. But when I saw later that one could get such a certificate in spite of being a meat-eater, it lost all its charm for me.

Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth.

Great men never look at a person's exterior. They think of his heart.

Rest assured it takes no unusual skill to be an ordinary lawyer. Common honesty and industry are enough to enable him to make a living. All cases are not complicated.

I scrupulously avoided hurting their feelings.

It went against the grain with me to do a thing in secret that I would not do in public.

The heart's earnest and pure desire is always fulfilled.

Service can have no meaning unless one takes pleasure in it.

Long Walk to Freedom

is an excellent book (isbn 978-0-349-10653-3). As usual I'm going to quote from a few pages:

I maintain that nurture, rather than nature, is the primary moulder of personality.

I did well in school not so much through cleverness as through doggedness.

These [meetings] were not scheduled, but were called as needed... Everyone who wanted to speak did so... People spoke without interruption...

Majority rule was a foreign notion. A minority was not to be crushed by a majority.

This metal wire, he said, pointing above, is an example of Western manufacturing, which is skilful but cold, clever but soulless.

I could compensate for lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this to everything I did.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have changed.

Gaur believed in finding solutions rather than spouting theory.

I was far more certain in those days of what I was against than what I was for.

If fine bodies and impressive physiques were essential to being a leader, I saw that few among us would have qualified.

If you wait for textbook conditions, they will never occur.

Class, Nyerere always insisted, was alien to Africa; socialism indigenous.

I did not think this view [always rejecting bail] should be universally applied and believed we should examine the issue on a case-by-case basis.

Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose because I will not part with it at any price or under any pressure.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie

is an excellent book (isbn 0-451-53038-1). As usual I'm going to quote from a few pages:

In an incautious moment my parents had promised that I should never be sent to school until I asked leave to go. This promise I afterward learned began to give them considerable uneasiness because as I grew up I showed no disposition to ask.

He is a bold man who calls anything a trifle.

The fundamental advantage of a library is that it gives you nothing for nothing. Youths must acquire knowledge themselves.

The celebrated maxim of Confucius: To perform the duties of this life well, troubling not about another, is prime wisdom.

Whenever one learns to do anything he has never to wait long for an opportunity of putting his knowledge to use.

How reserved the Scot is! Where he feels most he expresses least. Silence is more eloquent than words.

Slight attention or a kind word to the humble often bring back reward as great as it is unlooked for. No kind action is ever lost.

Even in these days of the fiercest competition, when everything would seem to be matter of price, there lies still at the root of great business success the very much more important factor of quality.

No sound judgement can remain with the man whose mind is disturbed by the mercurial changes of the Stock Exchange. It places him under an influence akin to intoxication. What is not, he sees, and what he sees, is not.

Mr Pullman replied: "Yes, my friends, all that you say is true. I have had a long, long life full of troubles, but there is one curious fact about them - nine tenths of them never happened."