Quotes from book
Dear Me

Name: Dear Me
Author: Peter Ustinov

Peter Ustinov

Dear Me is an autobiography by Peter Ustinov, published in 1977. The book's title is a play on words, since, in addition to "dear me" being a lament, it refers to the fact that the book is addressed to himself, as a conversation between Ustinov's "all too solid flesh" and "remorseless spirit."

“To all those who by accident or design, have not been included in this book.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

Dedication page
Dear Me (1977)

“Life was cheap in the Middle Ages. It has become cheaper since. It is only in specific battles for specific lives that our culture is put to the test, and with it our humanity.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

p, 125
Dear Me (1977)

“The social sciences were for all those who had not yet decided what to do with their lives, and for all those whose premature frustrations led them into the sterile alleys of confrontation.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

Dear Me (1977)

“Contrary to general belief, I do not believe that friends are necessarily the people you like best, they are merely the people who got there first.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

Dear Me (1977)

“I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me the most civilized music in the world.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

Dear Me (1977)

“Once we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our mind, our one duty is to furnish it well.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

Dear Me (1977)

“I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool, an optimist must know what a sad place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

Dear Me (1977), p. 167

“We have fought two wars to end war. In 1976, the nations of this world set aside the same amount of money for its starving children as the lavished on armaments every two hours.”

Peter Ustinov book Dear Me

Dear Me (1977)
Context: We have fought two wars to end war. In 1976, the nations of this world set aside the same amount of money for its starving children as the lavished on armaments every two hours. Can any right-minded man afford to be a pessimist? That was a luxury for easier days. <!-- p. 167