Quotes by Paul Fussell

About Paul Fussell:

Paul Fussell, Jr. is best known for his writings about World War I and II, which explore what he felt was the gap between the romantic myth and reality of war; he made a "career out of refusing to disguise it or elevate it".
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Irony is the attendant of hope and the fuel of hope is innocence.

Paul Fussell

Every war is ironic because every war is worse than expected. Every war constitutes an irony of situation because its means are so melodramatically disproportionate to its presumed ends.

Paul Fussell

Chickenshit can be recognized instantly because it never has anything to do with winning the war.

Paul Fussell

I find nothing more depressing than optimism.

Paul Fussell

If we do not redefine manhood, war is inevitable.

Paul Fussell

The past, which as always did not know the future, acted in ways that ask to be imagined before they are condemned. Or even simplified.

Paul Fussell

Wars damage the civilian society as much as they damage the enemy. Soldiers never get over it.

Paul Fussell

If I didn't have writing, I'd be running down the street hurling grenades in people's faces.

Paul Fussell

Americans are the only people in the world known to me whose status anxiety prompts them to advertise their college and university affiliations in the rear window of their automobiles.

Paul Fussell

The more violent the body contact of the sports you watch, the lower the class.

Paul Fussell

The worst thing about war was the sitting around and wondering what you were doing morally.

Paul Fussell

Author Bio

  • NamePaul Fussell
  • DescriptionRecipient of the Purple Heart medal
  • BornMarch 22, 1924
  • DiedMay 23, 2012
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionLiterary Historian; Military Historian; Author
  • AwardsNational Book Critics Circle Award; Guggenheim Fellowship; Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart; National Book Award