Clive Cussler Quotes

To those of you who seek lost objects of history, I wish you the best of luck. They're out there, and they're whispering.

Giordino...simply sighed in resignation. "Who else," he asked no one in particular, "but Dirk Pitt could tramp off into a blizzard on an uninhabited backwater island in the Antarctic and discover a beautiful girl?

I must say one thing about southern down-home brewed coffee with chicory. If you have worms, you'll never have them again.

Time is a thief. It steals our memory, our hopes, and our strength, leaving only the sense there’s never enough of it.

Life’s a daring adventure or nothing at all.

Though neither of them had ever called their meeting a case of love at first sight, they'd both agreed it had certainly been a case of "pretty damned sure at first hour.

We’re not lost,” he said in a cheery tone. “We’re just locationally deficient and directionally challenged at the moment.

She was a Privately funded spy ship owned by the corporation and headed by Juan Cabtillo. The Oregon was his brain child and his one true love.

Americans have an annoying habit of accomplishing what they set out to do.

My daddy always said, ‘Luck never gives, it lends,

While like most men, Sam prided himself on being equipped with a supernatural internal compass that kept him from ever being lost, he'd also learned to concede those rare times when that compass seemed to be temporary disrepair.

A grief-stricken man is driven to defy the gods.

Deep, choking sobs that sounded like his soul was being torn apart. He clutched at his father and Max took his in his arms. "I am so sorry dad." Kyle sobbed. "And I forgive you because that is what fahters do" said Max

When power is up for grabs,” Pitt said, “the first casualty is often liberty.

Dangerous things, books." "Look what it did to your brain.

A man accepts the thankless burden of responsibility. We women do not. To us, life is a game we play one day at a time.

Not to worry,” said Giordino with humorous detachment. “If the inscriptions prove ancient, they’re probably nothing but a book of ancient recipes.” “Recipes for what?” inquired Helm. “Goat,” said Giordino moodily. “A thousand and one ways to serve goat.

Hitting the first molecules of the upper atmosphere created friction that merely warmed the rod. The lower it fell, the more the heat built, until the entire length of the rod glowed red then yellow, and, finally, a brilliant white.

Take away the clothes of the greatest living man, his father once told him, and you behold a very embarrassed, naked and defenseless animal.

fisherman had to be a combination biologist, meteorologist, mechanic and mariner. Their livelihood, their very lives, depended on their store of practical knowledge.

Life is as you yourself make it.

Great escape read, yet always come back again and again

They who await no gifts from chance, conquer fate.

Relentless Savage is a great read! Dave Edlund's writing is on par with Clive Cussler and David Baldacci. Can't wait for the next one!

Brendan shuddered. “Honestly? I’m not sure I can say Dirk without laughing. A less Dirk-like person could not exist. Who named you? Clive Cussler? Dirk Melovitch.

Readers, A few years ago, while I was writing Flood Tide, I realized that Dirk Pitt needed some help on a particular assignment, and so I dreamed up Juan Cabrillo. Cabrillo ran a ship called the Oregon, on the outside completely nondescript, but on the inside packed with state-of-the-art intelligence-gathering equipment. It was a completely private enterprise, available for any government agency that could afford it. It went where no warship could go, transported secret cargo without suspicion, plucked

We’ve been through all this a thousand times. I won’t subject myself to the indignities of pregnancy. I won’t swish crap-laden diapers around in a toilet bowl ten times a day. Let someone else populate the earth. I’m not about to split off my soul, like some damned amoeba.

Two unarmed men against six loaded for bear. We need to even the odds.” “Got a plan?” asked Giordino. “I certainly do.” Giordino gave the little man with the academic, nerdy look a bemused stare. “Is it evil, rotten, and sneaky?” Gunn nodded, with an impish grin. “All that, and more.”   THE

Youth and vigor are no match for age and treachery.

Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered.

Every life mattered, or none of them mattered.

Iceland, the land of frost and fire, rugged glaciers and smoldering volcanoes,

Hold on,' he shouted to the woman, realizing even as he spoke that she wasn't holding anything at all, but guessing that 'hang in there' would have had a terrible ring to it.

Unfortunately we have to remember we’re scientists, not writers of popular semifictional archaeological claptrap.

octagonal barrel flickered

Reminds me of that urban legend about hearing voices in the white noise of a television tuned to a station that's off the air

there is evil in this world. And all it takes for it to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

I know you're the only pistol champion we have, but I'd rather they no see enough of you to hit. You're also the only wife I have..." "You're so sweet.' "...at the moment.

In 1892, mine owner L. L. Nunn had hired the electrical wizard Nikola Tesla to build the world’s first alternating-current power

A man does not run among thorns for no reason; either he is chasing a snake or a snake is chasing him.

Yes, I am aware of the enticements required to obtain them,” Kang replied with distaste. “I believe the Russians could teach the West a thing or two about capitalistic extortion.

A season with the herd and you’ll be riding like an arat,” Noyon said, referring to the local horsemen. “A season in that saddle and I’d be ready for traction,” Giordino grumbled.

Yes, Istanbul does live up to its nickname as the ‘Queen of Cities.’ Born to the Greeks, raised by the Romans, and matured under the Ottomans.

Don’t give up on Jim Sandecker,” said Gunn. “He may have been blocked by the White House in securing the Roosevelt, but I’ll bet you a dinner with soft lights and music that he’ll come up with a replacement.” “You’re on,” she said, smiling thinly. “That’s a bed I’ll gladly lose.” He looked up curiously. “I beg your pardon?” “A Freudian slip.” She laughed tiredly. “I meant ‘bet.

In this century wars will not be fought over oil, as in the past, but over water. The situation is becoming desperate. The world's water is strained by population growth. There is no more fresh water on earth than two thousand years ago when the population was three percent of its current size. Even without the inevitable droughts, like the current one, it will get worse as demand and pollution increase. Some countries will simply run out of water, sparking a global refugee crisis. Tens of millions of people will flood across international borders. It means the collapse of fisheries, environmental destruction, conflict, lower living standards." She paused for a moment. "As people who deal with the ocean you must see the irony. We are facing a shortage on a planet whose surface is covered two-thirds with water.

Joe had the distinct impression they were getting in deeper than they expected with each turn, almost as if they’d hooked a small fish that had been eaten by a larger fish and was being chased by a giant shark.

You guys are of the belief that everything worth knowing is already on the Internet. There is ten times more information in libraries than on the Web. Probably a thousand times. You two go way beyond Google searches,

Giordino, on the other hand, simply sighed in resignation. “Who else,” he asked no one in particular, “but Dirk Pitt could tramp off into a blizzard on an uninhabited backwater island in the Antarctic and discover a beautiful girl?

The captain moniker derived from a tired blue hat he wore on his head. It was the classic captain’s hat favored by rich yachtsmen, sporting crossed gold anchors on its prow. Dahlgren’s hat, however, looked like it had been run over by an M-1 tank.

She was regarding her face in the mirror. She again had the allure that so captivated movie audiences. Gone were the ravages of last night's excess. Kevin had restored her face's artful mix of innocence and sex appeal. The sadness in her eyes was hers alone.

He opened the door, and his smile faded as his eyes went to the DUNKIN’ DONUTS emblazoned on the flat cardboard box in Paul’s hands. Perlmutter recoiled like a vampire being offered garlic, and would have fled into the house if Trout had not lifted the box’s lid.

You should see the latest computer-generated movies featuring the long-gone old stars with the new. I've watched the video of Arizona Sunset at least a dozen times." "Who plays the leads?" "Humphrey Bogart, Lionel Barrymore, Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts, and Tom Cruise. It's so real, you'd swear they all acted together on the set.

Now, he thought, a satanic grin on his lips, I’ll show you an Immelmann. He threw the aircraft into a half loop and then snapped it over in a half roll, heading on a direct course toward the helicopter. “Write your will, sucker!” he shouted, his voice drowned out by the rush of wind and the roar of the engine’s exhaust. “Here comes the Red Baron.

Josh Thomas was sitting in Egan’s study, reading a chemical analysis journal, when he froze in fright. The rug in the center of the room suddenly rose from the floor as if a ghost were inside and then flew aside. A trapdoor beneath swung open and Pitt’s head popped up like a jack-in-the-box. “Sorry to intrude,” said Pitt with a cheery smile. “But I just happened to be passing by.

As they exited the conference room, Summer tugged at Dirk’s elbow. “So what did the data from Perlmutter cost you?” she chided, knowing the gourmet historian’s penchant for culinary blackmail. “Nothing much. Just a jar of pickled sea urchins and an eighty-year-old bottle of sake.” “You found those in Washington, D.C.?” Dirk gave his sister a pleading look of helplessness. “Well,” she laughed, “we do have six more hours in port.

If his submarine were caught on the surface in broad daylight, the mission to free Napoleon Bonaparte from exile would be over before it began. Delacroix lowered his spyglass and called down through the hatch. “Prepare to dive the boat!” Three men quickly lowered the sail in the gusting wind. With the bright sun at his back, Delacroix took one last look at the approaching frigate before ducking below and closing the copper hatch. His nostrils flared at the rank odor of fifteen men packed together inside the cramped quarters. “Did they spot us?” asked Yves Beaumont,

This is Lugovoy." "Who?" "Aleksei Lugovoy." "Is Willie dere?" asked a voice, heavy with the New York City accent that always grated on Lugovoy's ears. "There is no Willie here," Lugovoy said brusquely. "You must have the wrong number." Then he abruptly hung up. Lugovoy's face was expressionless, but a faint pallor was there that was missing before. He flexed his fists, inhaled deeply and eyed the phone, waiting. The light blinked and the phone chimed again. "Lugovoy." "You sure Willie ain't dere?" "WILLIE AIN'T HERE!" he replied, mimicking the caller's accent. He slammed the receiver onto the cradle.

No, seriously," Mark continued. "Once you've been involved for a while, do your charity work in some third world toilet, they start letting you in on some of the bigger secrets to Responsivism, and how the knowledge will save you." "Go on," Juan said to indulge him. Murph might be flakey, but he had a topflight mind. "Ever heard of 'brane theory?" He'd already talked with Eric about it so only Stone didn't return a blank stare. "It's right up there with string theory as a way of unifying all four forces in the universe, something Einstein couldn't do. In a nutshell, it says our four-dimensional universe is a single membrane, and that there are others existing in higher orders of space. These are so close to ours that zero-point matter and energy can pass between them and that gravitation forces in our universe can leak out. It's all cutting-edge stuff." "I'll take your word for it," Cabrillo said. "Anyway, "brane theory started to get traction among theoreti cal physicists in the mid-nineties, and Lydell Cooper glommed on to it, too. He took it a step further, though. It wasn't just quantum particles passing in and out of our universe. He believed that an intelligence from another 'brane was affecting people here in our dimension. This intelligence, he said, shaped our day-to-day lives in ways we couldn't sense. It was the cause of all our suffering. Just before his death, Cooper started to teach techniques to limit this influence, ways to protect ourselves from the alien power." "And people bought this crap?" Max asked, sinking deeper into depression over his son. "Oh yeah. Think about it from their side for a second. It's not a believer's fault that he is unlucky or depressed or just plain stupid. His life is being messed with across dimensional membranes It's an alien influence that cost you that promotion or prevented you from dating the girl of your dreams. It's a cosmic force holding you back, not your own ineptitude. If you believe that, then you don't have to take responsibility for your life. And we all know nobody takes responsibility for himself anymore. Responsivism gives you a ready-made excuse for your poor life choices.

pistol,

them had been from Mars. But

To my new friends. May misfortune follow you the rest of your lives, but never catch up.

Moving human cargo in an underworld apathetic to borders and political ideologies, people-smuggling will be the major crime of the twenty-first century.

When one loves one’s work, time and inconvenience have little meaning.

could have cared less

Juan had known the worst was yet to come as the world splintered on religious and tribal lines and the fighting emerged from the shadows.

Navy squab,

Drawing in seawater from the Mediterranean, the plant produced 165 million gallons of fresh water a day, more than twenty percent of Israel’s municipal drinking water. The fenced

Hanging the radio microphone back in the holder, he turned to his copilot and flight engineer.

he pushed the throttles forward and raced down the patch of sand.

THE TERM POSH originated during the time of the British Raj in India, when passengers booking ships to their imperial postings in Bombay or Delhi asked for portside cabins on the way to India and for starboard cabins on the return to England. This way, their rooms were always on the shaded side of the ship. Booking agents shortened “Port Out, Starboard Home” to POSH, and a new word entered the English language.

downside of having a fertile imagination. Possibilities became probabilities, and

The ship was charging hard northward, having cut through the choke point of Bab el Mandeb, or the Gate of Tears, that separated Yemen from the African nation of Djibouti. They were in the Red Sea, and Cabrillo had already called in enough favors with Atlas Marine Services, the Egyptian company that ran the Suez Canal, to see that his ship would be part of the next morning’s only northbound convoy. It would take eleven hours to transit the one hundred and one miles from Suez to Port Said, but once they were clear their final destination was only a day away. With the number of vessels heading into and out of the Suez Canal, the shipping lanes in the Red Sea were heavily congested. So as not to arouse undue suspicion from passing ships, Juan had posted a watch on the bridge, even though the Oregon was being piloted from the Op Center belowdecks. He was on the bridge now, overseeing preparations for taking on a canal pilot in the morning. Sandstorms raged in the western sky over Africa. The sun setting through burnt sienna clouds cast the bridge in an otherworldly glow. The temperature remained near eighty degrees, and wouldn’t get much cooler when the sun did finally settle over the horizon. “What

Juan walked onto the bridge wing, the wind ruffling his light cotton shirt. He could taste the distant desert in the back of his throat as he drew a deep breath. Though drawn to the sea since he was a boy, the desert also held a similar fascination. Like the ocean, it was an element that was both inhospitable and indifferent, and yet, since time immemorial, men have ventured across it both for profit and exploration. Had he been born in a different time and a different place, Cabrillo could see himself leading camel caravans across the trackless Sahara or through Saudi Arabia’s Rub’ al-Khali, the Great Empty Quarter. It was the mystery of what lay beyond the next wave, or the next dune, that drew him.

Columbus

They went

voluminous

how

jerkwater town—so named because the engineer jerked a chain to get water flowing from the towering cisterns—to satisfy the locomotive’s unquenchable thirst.

We fight a losing battle as it is with illegals pouring across our border with Mexico, many who come from as far away as Chile and Argentina,

We might as well hold back ocean surf with kitchen sieves.

Those who lie deep in the Atlantic Sea Are recalled by shrines, wreaths, & poetry But those who lie in the Pacific Sea Lie forgotten for all eternity

tradition

I can’t conceive of five dollars a gallon or more for gas,

interest

its

I tenenti dei marine non venivano quasi mai messi al corrente delle informazioni riservate. Avevano il dovere di farsi ammazzare, ma non il diritto di conoscerne il motivo.

Clive Cussler.

Beyond this point, there be dragons.

the desert nomads in air-fighting

People are like old tools that are used and then thrown away or destroyed when they have no more purpose. I pity men like you who are burdened with morals and principles. You are doomed to chase a mirage, a perfect world that never was and never will be.

unlocked the AC Cobra, shoved the Mauser into a narrow

greeted

Let’s face it, the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican borders are sieves. Short of us erecting walls, there’s not much we can do if someone is determined to enter our country

a simple thank you would have done nicely. Instead, your mouth flows with a diarrheal discharge of rudeness and sarcasm.

Then you best go rouse the captain.

Hospitals are nightmares in white.

Laboratory, then waved Hagen

merely

Take away the clothes of the greatest living man, his father once told him, and you behold a very embarrassed, naked and defenseless animal. Pitt