Education of a Felon Quotes

“I believe that anyone who doesn't read remains dumb. Even if they know how, failing to regularly ingest the written word dooms them to ignorance, no matter what else they have or do”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon

“Sono convinto che chi non legge resta uno stupido. Anche se nella vita sa destreggiarsi, il fatto di non ingerire regolarmente parole scritte lo condanna ineluttabilmente all'ignoranza, indipendentemente dai suoi averi e dalle sue attività.”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon

“Reading taught me that prison had been the crucible that had formed several great writers. Cervantes wrote much of Don Quixote in a prison cell, and Dostoyevski was a mediocre writer until he was sentenced to death, commuted within a few hours of execution, and then sent to prison in Siberia.”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon: A Memoir

“Gatsby was great, but most unlikely. Gatsby was too unreal. Although I thought Fitzgerald wrote as well as any American novelist in the twentieth century, Gatsby was as far from truth as Fu Manchu. He was too soft to be what he was storied to be. Gatsby might be a cat burglar, but Gatsby was definitely not a gangster. He lacked the force of will to compel tough men to his bidding simply by force of will. He failed another test; he was too weak for a broad.”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon: A Memoir

“The thief’s underworld, which is different from that of the mafiosi, gang bangers, and racketeers, has many adages and observations. If you can’t do the time don’t mess with crime is the best-known. Another is: A thief’s nerve is in direct proportion to his financial condition. Or: Hard times make hard people.”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon: A Memoir

“Everything in life stands on what has gone before. You do this or that because, at the moment, it seems what to do. You are faced with this or that because of what happened somewhere earlier in your journey of life. What happened earlier depends on what went before that. Who would dispute that nobody stands in a void or a vacuum?”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon: A Memoir

“Convicts on the main line sent me books from the library. I’ve always been able to make it if I could read.”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon: A Memoir

“It was several years later that Mrs. Wallis told me the story of her philanthropy, which was always personal and individual rather than as part of an organization. She never appeared in the photos of the women’s committee of this or that charity. She did her good works alone and quietly, although her obituary would be headed: “Angel of Hollywood.”
― Edward Bunker, Education of a Felon: A Memoir