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Garry Wills

49quotes

Garry Wills


Biography of an American Historian and Author

Full Name and Common Aliases


Garry Wills was born on January 3, 1934, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also known as Gary Wills.

Birth and Death Dates


Born: January 3, 1934
Still alive, no death date recorded

Nationality and Profession(s)


American historian, author, critic, and professor. Wills has spent his career exploring the intersections of politics, history, and culture in America.

Early Life and Background


Garry Wills grew up in a devout Catholic family, which had a profound impact on his future work as an author and historian. His early life was marked by intellectual curiosity, with a passion for reading and learning that would serve him well throughout his career. After graduating from high school, Wills attended Xavier University in New Orleans before moving to the United States Naval Academy, where he studied mathematics.

Major Accomplishments


Wills' academic credentials are impressive. He earned a Ph.D. in Classics from Yale University and went on to become one of America's leading historians and thinkers. As a professor at several prestigious institutions, including Northwestern University and Boston College, Wills taught courses in history, classics, and philosophy. His contributions to scholarship have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.

Notable Works or Actions


Wills is known for his thought-provoking books on American politics and culture. Some notable works include:

Nixon Agonistes (1969): A critical examination of Richard Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign, which won Wills the Pulitzer Prize.
 Inventing America: From Myth to History (1978): An analysis of how myth-making shapes American history and identity.
* Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America (1992): A book exploring Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and its impact on the nation.

Impact and Legacy


Garry Wills' work has had a lasting impact on the fields of history, politics, and cultural studies. His writing is known for its clarity, depth, and nuance, offering insights into America's complex past and present. As an author and thinker, Wills continues to inspire new generations of scholars, thinkers, and citizens.

Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered


Garry Wills is widely quoted and remembered because his work offers profound insights into the American experience. His writing on politics, history, and culture has helped readers understand the complexities of America's past and present. As a leading historian and author, Wills continues to inspire debate, discussion, and reflection among scholars, thinkers, and citizens.

In conclusion, Garry Wills is an American historian and author whose work has had a lasting impact on our understanding of politics, history, and culture in America. His writing is characterized by its clarity, depth, and nuance, offering insights that continue to inspire new generations of scholars, thinkers, and citizens.

Quotes by Garry Wills

The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leaders and followers... Leaders, followers and goals make up the three equally necessary supports for leadership.
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The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leaders and followers... Leaders, followers and goals make up the three equally necessary supports for leadership.
GW
You will hear everlastingly, in all discussions about newspapers, companies, aristocracies, or party politics, this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The fact is, of course, that the rich man is bribed; he has been bribed already. That is why he is a rich man. – GILBERT CHESTERTON.
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You will hear everlastingly, in all discussions about newspapers, companies, aristocracies, or party politics, this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The fact is, of course, that the rich man is bribed; he has been bribed already. That is why he is a rich man. – GILBERT CHESTERTON.
GW
Unfettered inquisitiveness, it is clear, teaches better than do intimidating assignments.
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Unfettered inquisitiveness, it is clear, teaches better than do intimidating assignments.
GW
Politicians make good company for a while just as children do – their self-enjoyment is contagious. But they soon exhaust their favourite subjects -themselves.
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Politicians make good company for a while just as children do – their self-enjoyment is contagious. But they soon exhaust their favourite subjects -themselves.
GW
Religion embarrasses the commentators. It is offbounds. An editor of the old Life magazine once assigned me a book on religion with remark that I was the only ‘religious nut’ – his term for a believer – in his stable of regular reviewers.
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Religion embarrasses the commentators. It is offbounds. An editor of the old Life magazine once assigned me a book on religion with remark that I was the only ‘religious nut’ – his term for a believer – in his stable of regular reviewers.
GW
It’s not healthy for a society if the people hate their own government.
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It’s not healthy for a society if the people hate their own government.
GW
The romantic artist, off alone in his storm-battered castle, fuming whole worlds from his brain, reflects his culture’s most persistent myth, of God creating from a primal loneliness.
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The romantic artist, off alone in his storm-battered castle, fuming whole worlds from his brain, reflects his culture’s most persistent myth, of God creating from a primal loneliness.
GW
To “bear arms” is, in itself, a military term. One does not bear arms against a rabbit.
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To “bear arms” is, in itself, a military term. One does not bear arms against a rabbit.
GW
Term limits mean that you don’t trust the voters. ‘Stop me before I vote again.’
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Term limits mean that you don’t trust the voters. ‘Stop me before I vote again.’
GW
Leadership – mobilization toward a common goal.
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Leadership – mobilization toward a common goal.
GW
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