David Hoffman
David Hoffman
Prolific journalist and author of non-fiction who is best known for his book The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy. The book, published in 2010, earned him the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNon-Fiction Author
Date of Birth5 June 1953
CityPalo Alto, CA
CountryUnited States of America
built case purely weapon
No confession, no prints, no murder weapon and no eyewitnesses. It was purely a case built on motive.
democratic funding received republican strange
We've received a lot of funding from Democratic and Republican administrations. It makes for some strange bedfellows.
matter ray sick time walk whenever whether
Every time Ray went on stage, he put everything he had into it - didn't matter whether he was sick or tired. Now, whenever I walk on stage, I try to do the same thing.
hostile judges securities
It suggests that he's not particularly hostile to securities plaintiffs and many judges are.
across charms college cop crunch cuts kid lucky sit talk tasted
It's one of those experiences that cuts across generations, across socio-economic lines. An upper-middle-class kid going to college can sit down with a cop and talk about Cocoa Puffs. There isn't one of us who hasn't tasted Cap'n Crunch or Trix or Lucky Charms or Froot Loops.
accounting jury sean stuff underlying understand
Even with a lot of the accounting stuff out, they've still got to make the jury understand the underlying fraud, and that's where I think Sean will shine.
hear time
It was the first time Soviets and Americans got to hear uncensored discussions of real-life things about each other on television.
agreement people unions
Nixon tried to wrap the Soviet Union into a web of agreements that would constrain its behavior. What happened is that many people lost faith in that approach, not the least because of how the Soviets handled it.
war technology challenges
In fact, the same difficulties faced by Reagan in the 1980-s are still there [in the beginning of 21 century]: how do you hit a bullet with a bullet? The technology is getting better, but it still is focused on one interceptor knocking down one missile. In war, there would be many more challenges, more chaos, more uncertainty.
talking long use
Despite his deeply-held ideology, Reagan was willing to talk to Gorbachev. He willing to do business with him. We should realize that engaging with adversaries is often one of our great strengths. As long as we use the engagement to stand up for the things we care about, there is no harm in talking.
arguing verify hard
I find it hard to argue with Reagan's old slogan: Trust, but verify.
thinking doors wind
Scholars have been arguing for a long time whether the Soviet Union could have been turned into some kind of social democracy. I doubt it myself. I think what Gorbachev didn't quite understand, until it was too late, is that his efforts at change unleashed new, certrifical forces he hadn't counted on. He opened the door a crack and a huge wind blew it open.
saving problem economic
Gorbachev was acutely aware of the [USSR] economic problems, and it was central to all he did. He wanted to change the system in hopes of saving it. In the end he could not.
strong real mean
I have no doubt that aggressively going after wrongdoing can result in real improvement. Fewer wrongdoers in city government means more honest employees; it means better city services; it means more efficient government. And punishing wrongdoing can have a strong ripple effect that deters others from going down the wrong path.