David Halberstam Quotes - Page 2

Education was central to reporting.
David Halberstam
All professions have some element of theater to them.
David Halberstam
Hughes might discuss Calvinism ably, but he did not live it, he was—by Time corporate standards—just a little lazy.
David Halberstam
He saw the pleasure you took from your job every day of his life, and THAT was what he wanted.
David Halberstam
When he studied, it was not so much for a promotion as to EXCEL at his job.
David Halberstam
It was the kind of country that made you feel better about yourself.
David Halberstam
Why did McNamara have such good figures? Why did McNamara have such good staff work and Ball such poor staff work? The next day Ball would angrily dispatch his staff to come up with the figures, to find out how McNamara had gotten them, and the staff would burrow away and occasionally find that one of the reasons that Ball did not have comparable figures was that they did not always exist. McNamara had invented them, he dissembled even within the bureaucracy, though, of course, always for a good cause. It was part of his sense of service. He believed in what he did, and thus the morality of it was assured, and everything else fell into place. It was all right to lie and dissemble for the right causes. It was part of service, loyalty to the President, not to the nation, not to colleagues, it was a very special bureaucratic-corporate definition of integrity; you could do almost anything you wanted as long as it served your superior.
David Halberstam
Officers came and went and were never a part of daily life.
David Halberstam
The men were always wary of an officer who took form more seriously than function.
David Halberstam
Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefiled and could afflict the brave as well as the timid. Worse it was contagious, and could destroy a unit before a battle even began. Because of that, commanders were first and foremost in the fear suppression business.
David Halberstam
There was, I found, always more to learn.
David Halberstam
[On writing:] "There's a great quote by Julius Irving that went, 'Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.'", March 25, 2007.)
David Halberstam