"[His rejection letters] were so complimentary that they usually had to be read twice to discover whether he was making a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize or expressing regret."
Dickson Hartwell (on Frank Crowninshield)
about an extraordinary capacity for wonder
"[His rejection letters] were so complimentary that they usually had to be read twice to discover whether he was making a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize or expressing regret."
Dickson Hartwell (on Frank Crowninshield)
"For it’s a subtle craft, the art of the playboy—the creation of a life of tasteful public and private pleasure—and it’s one that is completely lost on the rich of today. Many men think they’re playboys, but they invariably land wide of the mark. Surrounding yourself with champagne, fast friends, and paid escorts is the very definition of the word “loser.” (It’s the same with men who purchase high-tech boats, private planes, and tall Russian women. They think they’re Bond, but really, they’re Blofeld.) True playboys love women—they love being around them, and they especially love the chase. Sachs’s pursuit of Bardot, then the most sought-after woman in the world, included flying over her house in St. Tropez in a helicopter and dropping thousands of red roses down to her."
Graydon Carter
(Source: vanityfair.com)
"One reason a gentleman may be obliged to lie is to protect the reputation of the woman. Clinton has lied in order to trash them."
Christopher Hitchens
"If this vulgar hoodlum president [JFK] had not been survived by a widow of exceptional bearing and grace, his reputation would probably now be dirt."
Christopher Hitchens
