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David Halberstam Biography

David Halberstam

David Halberstam (April 10, 1934–April 23, 2007) was an American journalist and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and later, sports journalism. He won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1964. Halberstam was killed in a car crash in 2007, while doing research for a book.

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David Halberstam Quotes

Nixon, who spent much of his career attacking the press and saying he was a victim of the press, was in fact created by the press, in this case the L. A. Times.

Careers, Created, Facts, Times, Victim

There are only two kinds of stories in the world: those about which I do not care to write as many as 600 words, and those about which I would like to write many more than 600 words. But there is nothing about which I would like to write exactly 600 words.

Exactly, Stories, Two, Words, Writing

These days there's all too much coverage of pesudo-events about extraordinarily inauthentic people doing inauthentic things.

Days, Events, Extraordinarily, Inauthentic, People, Too Much

With the marketing pressures driving the book world today, it's much easier to get the author of a memoir on a television show than a serious novelist.

Book, Driving, Easier, Marketing, Serious, Television

Memory is often less about the truth than about what we want it to be.

Inspirational, Life, Love, Memory, Truth

QUESTION: Do you know what the greatest test is? ANSWER:Do you still get excited about what you do when you get up in the morning?

Excited, Know, Life, Morning, Motivation, Test

During their college years the oarsmen put in terrbily long hours, often showing up at the boathouse at 6:00am for preclass practices. Both physically and psychologically, they were separated from their classmates. Events that seemed earth-shattering to them-- for example, who was demoted from the varsity to the junior varsity -- went almost unnoticed by the rest of the students. In many ways they were like combat veterans coming back from a small, bitter and distant war, able to talk only to other veterans.

College, Like, Long, Practice, Preclass, War

The most dangerous thing about power is to employ it where it is not applicable.

Dangerous, Dangerous Things, Employ, Power, Thing

Rowing, particularly sculling, inflicts on the individual in every race a level of pain associated with few other sports. There was certainly pain in football during a head-on collision, pain in other sports on the occasion of a serious injury. That was more the threat of pain; in rowing there was the absolute guarantee of it every time.

Football, Guarantee, Inflicts, Occasion, Pain, Sports

In team sports the athletes were bonded by each other, there was an immense peer pressure to keep going. One dared not miss a practice for fear of letting his teammates down. Every time an athlete thought of getting back into bed in the morning he knew he would have to face the anger of his closest friends. But the sculler had to find motivation entirely within himself. No one else cared.

Friends, Morning, Motivation, Sports, Time

If there is anything that is important to America, it is that you are not a prisoner of the past.

America, Past, Political, Prisoner

If youre a reporter, the easiest thing in the world is to get a story. The hardest thing is to verify. The old sins were about getting something wrong, that was a cardinal sin. The new sin is to be boring.

Cardinal, Sin, Stories, World, Wrong

Always stay in with the outs.

Advice, Outs, Stay

Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefield 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.

Afflict, Brave, Destroy, Fear, Secret, Terrible

Few sports has as great a disparity between the time committed in practice and time actually spent in game or race conditions.

Actually, Committed, Practice, Race, Sports

This was the mark of an uncommon soldier, someone whose courage away from the battlefield was the same as that on it.

Mark, Same, Soldier, Uncommon

What looked safe was not safe. What looked hard and unsafe was probably safer. Anyway, safe was somewhere else in the world.

Anyway, Probably, Safe, Somewhere Else, Unsafe, World

Sometimes the best virtue learned on the battlefield is modesty.

Battlefield, Modesty, Sometimes, Virtue

The truth posed a great dilemma for a man who always had to be right, and yet, for all his grandeur, was often wrong.

Dilemma, Grandeur, Man, Men, Right

Being a professional means doing your job on the days you don't want to do it

Days, Job, Jobs, Mean, Professional, Volleyball