Category - Charles McCarry

Discover the thoughtful Quotes of Charles McCarry, a philosopher and author. Our collection of his most impactful quotes reflects his deep understanding of language, philosophy, and history. Motivational Quotes of Charles McCarry
Whether seeking thought-provoking reflections or academic wisdom, Charles McCarrys words offer a rich source of intellectual inspiration. #CharlesMcCarry Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

I have to tell you, I’m a happy man. I’ve lived the life I wanted to live. I’ve written the books I wanted to write. No publisher has ever even suggested that I change so much as a phrase – commas and periods, yes – and I suspect that I have a lot of serious readers; in fact, I know.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

There’s nothing new about European anti-Americanism. To go to a dinner party of intellectuals in Paris in 1960 was like walking into a tiger’s den with a piece of raw meat in your hands.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

If I were to give you a list of names of the people, world political figures, who have been assisted by the CIA, and even assisted to office around the world, you’d be astonished and probably wouldn’t believe it. But it’s very long, and the names are very distinguished.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

I’ve consciously tried not to romanticize anything, especially not intelligence work. I’ve always said that I’ve been writing a series of episodic, naturalistic novels. The people just happen to be spies, politicians, civil servants.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

Other writers tell me about these bushel baskets delivered at the front door. If I’ve gotten 50 letters over the last 18 years, I’d be surprised.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

I was swimming in my swimming pool when ‘The Secret Lovers’ popped entire into my head. I got out, dried off, went upstairs, and finished the book in about 50 days.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

As an old man who remembers the intellectual exhilaration and the pleasure of having done good work that characterized the CIA when it was young, I wonder if it might not be better to speak and think in terms of restoring its culture.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

When it comes to the assignment of blame, the CIA has by and large been a luckless organization.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

Richard M. Helms, the first director of Central Intelligence to rise from the ranks, was fond of saying that the CIA had been founded to make sure that there would never be another Pearl Harbor. Underlying this mission impossible was the wishful supposition that an America that knew everything could prevent anything.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

I write in a very peculiar way. I think about a book for 25 or 30 years in a kind of inchoate way, and at one point or another, I realize the book is ready to be written. I usually have a character, a first line, and general idea of what the book is going to be about.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

I don’t feel when I’m writing that I’m drawing from any other writer, but of course I must be. The writers I’ve admired have been not so very different from myself: Evelyn Waugh, for example, that kind of crystalline prose. And I’ve always admired W. Somerset Maugham more than any other writer.

– Charles McCarry

Charles McCarry

I’ve always been baffled by critics of the CIA, who are horrified that it does illegal things. That is the purpose of an intelligence service: to perform illegal acts.

– Charles McCarry

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