Scott Anderson (novelist)

"Would you believe that sometimes I am so tired, or the cave is so dark, I'm not even sure of the colours I give them? Would you believe that men have been given blues, have been set aside to die, suff…"

"Do you know what Pesh Merga means? It means 'those who face death'. . . I myself have never seen one face death; they all turn away at the end. - Dr Ahmet Talzani"

"I found my smartest patients were the most difficult, and I think Carlos was the smartest one of all. - Joaquin Morales"

"Homeland. It doesn't matter what you do or even what you believe, you never escape the homeland. It always keeps you. They talk of free will, but we are all just homing pigeons in the end. - Dr Ahmet …"

"My little tags are for them, because they need to believe there is a system. For me, I know it is all fate . . . Some live, some die, that's all. - Dr Ahmet Talzani"

"Some live, some die. It's the only way to view it. Anything else is just self-torture and arrogance. Because we are not gods, none of us are gods. - Dr Ahmet Talzani"

"Legs will always be the biggest problem. That’s always the case. Legs, legs, legs. For every arm I’ve amputated here, I’ve probably taken ten legs. Puzzling, isn’t it? . . . I think human legs * simpl…"

"There is no pattern to who lives and who dies in war . . . In war, people die because they do. - Dr Ahmet Talzani"