“It's been my experience, Langford, that the past always has a way of returning. Those who don't learn, or can't remember it, are doomed to repeat it.”

“He'd read once that in everyone's life there was somebody who touched a spot so deep, so precious, that the mind always retreated, in time of need, to that cherished place, seeking comfort within memories that never seemed to disappoint.”

“When I wrote 'The Alexandria Link,' I discovered that we are only aware of about 10 percent of the knowledge of the ancient world. In the ancient world, most of the knowledge was destroyed. Every emperor of China who came in wiped out everything that came before them, to the point that the country completely forgot its past.”

“I'm a morning person because I learned to write my novels while still practicing law. I would get to the office at 6:30 a.m. and write until other people arrived, around 9. Now I still do that. I start at 6:30 or 7, and I'll write until 11, then take an hour off, then work until about 2 p.m. By then my brain has had enough.”

“A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, and economic legacies - all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.”

“And what of failure?"He shrugged."The consequence of not succeesing.Remember what Homer said.Circumstances rule men,not men circumstances.”

“But heroes, at times, had to be fools.”

“They’re like chocolate-chip cookies, though. Can’t have just one.”

“People like him, who buried their past so determinedly, should not help it from the grave so easily.”

“What chilling blows we suffer-thanks to our conflicting wills-whenever we show these mortal men some kindness.”

“The lot of man is to suffer and die.What's gone is of no consequence.”