“We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls.”

—  Bill Bryson , book Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe (1991)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls." by Bill Bryson?
Bill Bryson photo
Bill Bryson 112
American author 1951

Related quotes

Vanna Bonta photo

“When we can build something like the Hubble telescope and fathom images of this vast cosmos of which we are a part, it really gives pause to wonder what and who we are within a larger framework than linear adventures at the shopping mall and taxes.”

Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) Italian-American writer, poet, inventor, actress, voice artist (1958-2014)

Vanna Bonta Talks About Quantum fiction: Author Interview (2007)

Steve Jobs photo

“We used to dream about this stuff. Now we get to build it. It's pretty great.”

Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc.

Keynote address http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/wwdc04/ at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (June 2004)
2000s

Marshall McLuhan photo

“First we build the tools, then they build us.”

Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar-- a professor of English literature, a literary critic, and a …
John Ruskin photo

“When we build, let us think that we build for ever.”

John Ruskin book The Seven Lamps of Architecture

Source: The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849), Chapter VI: The Lamp of Memory, section 10.

Gordon Neufeld photo

“We used to think that schools built brains. Now we know that it is play that builds the brains that school can then use.”

Gordon Neufeld (1947) Canadian psychologist

Source: Neurochild Community

Winston S. Churchill photo

“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”

Winston S. Churchill book The Second World War

Speech to the House of Commons (October 28, 1943), on plans for the rebuilding of the Chamber (destroyed by an enemy bomb May 10, 1941), in Never Give In! : The best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches (2003), Hyperion, p. 358 ISBN 1401300561
The Second World War (1939–1945)

Derren Brown photo

“Shopping Malls: Modern cathedrals to spending money. They’re designed to disorientate us and make us stay longer than we need to. Every brick is there to manipulate us to buy.”

Derren Brown (1971) British illusionist

TV Series and Specials (Includes DVDs), Mind Control (1999–2000) or Inside Your Mind on DVD

Angus King photo

“We proved that with civility, common sense, building bridges, working with coalitions and working with people one at a time, we could do something.”

Angus King (1944) United States Senator from Maine

As quoted in "Former Gov. King announces he'll run for U.S. Senate" in The Portland Press Herald (6 March 2012) http://www.pressherald.com/news/King-has-made-up-his-mind-Pingree-hasnt.html
Context: We proved that with civility, common sense, building bridges, working with coalitions and working with people one at a time, we could do something. … I can speak for the middle. … The real issue is the system itself.

John Mulaney photo

“Building a gazebo in the middle of the civil war, that'd be like doing stand-up comedy now.”

John Mulaney (1982) American actor and comedian

Kid Gorgeous (2018)

Related topics