“Any system of government will work when everything is going well. It’s the system that functions in the pinches that survives.”
John F. Kennedy
Why England Slept (Primary source)
Why England Slept by John F. Kennedy is a concise yet incisive analysis of Britain’s military unpreparedness in the years leading up to World War II. Originally written as Kennedy’s senior thesis at Harvard University, the book examines the political, economic, and social factors that contributed to Britain’s failure to rearm and modernize its defenses during the 1930s, despite the growing threat of Nazi Germany.
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“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“The idea that Britain loses every battle except the last has proved correct so many times in the past that the average Englishman is unwilling to make great personal sacrifices until the danger is overwhelmingly apparent.”
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“One loses everything when one loses one’s sense of humor.”
— Ayn Rand Primary source“This was a big storm and he might as well enjoy it. It was ruining everything, but you might as well enjoy it.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“Well done is better than well said.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“Well done is twice done.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source