Richard Rhodes Quotations

Writing is a craft and, like all craft, proceeds by stages: conception, material selection, rough shaping, detailed shaping, sanding and finishing.

When I heard what had transpired, I was deeply saddened. I resigned in support of Mrs. Wheatley because I know she has given unselfishly of her talent to this community.

Many novice writers, students in particular, think that writing is little more than copying down their self-talk, the palaver of the voices they hear in their heads. Of course, self-talk is thinking, and writing begins with thinking.

I have 38 years of public service, ... And I believe that's what I have to offer.

I think Hasegawa's work is the best thing to come along in a long time as far as bringing out new information. His information is new, and really as far as I can see, is definitive. He looked at the records of the Russian government, the Japanese government and the American government.

I think I want to write a biography, something with broad appeal, but I haven't figured out about whom.

That's the thing that makes it unique. For example, in the field events like the pole vault, there won't be an individual champion like in other meets. It will be based on the combined performance of the team members.

I've puzzled over the difficulty that students have with editing, and I think I've identified its source: It's their self-talk. We all talk to ourselves, inside our heads. That's what consciousness is.

Inventions are rarely just a sudden bright idea. Even if they are, they usually have antecedents in the form of pieces of the idea... Piecing these things together gives one a sense of where inventions come from, and that's interesting.

Although every writer dreams of getting it right on the first pass, very few succeed.

The development of the first atomic bomb is the great tragic epic of the 20th century, an operatic story. The emotional power of music can extract the richness of this almost mythological narrative, the Wagnerian mystery.