“I’ve got no use for possessions. Travel light, travel far.”
Never carry a spare shirt.
Be on as few pieces of paper as it is possible for a human being to be.
“To fill a small bag means selecting, and choosing, and evaluating. Pretty soon I’d have a big bag, and then two or three. A month later I’d be like the rest of you.”
Never have a credit card, real estate, a driver’s license, a car, a wife, children, or an address.
Take one day at a time.
“I’m not a vagrant … I’m a hobo. Big difference.”
Always travel by road—you don’t need ID and can pay with cash.
“Carry a spare shirt and pretty soon you’re carrying spare pants. Then you need a suitcase. Next thing you know, you’ve got a house and a car and a savings plan and you’re filling out all kinds of forms.”
THINGS YOU’LL NEVER SEE REACHER DO
Buy a business-class airline ticket
WHAT TO DO IN THE FACE OF:
STUPIDITY
MISUNDERSTANDING
IMPERTINENT PERSONAL QUESTIONS
EMPTY THREATS
BAD GUYS WHO WON’T TAKE THE HINT AND BACK OFF
Shrug.
“Reacher said nothing.”
If in doubt, say nothing.
Keeping your mouth shut is a devastating weapon.
Your silence will make your opponent want to babble.
Say nothing, do nothing.
You need a reason for speech, but you need more for silence.
“Reacher made no reply. It was a technique he had perfected half a lifetime ago. Just stand absolutely still, don’t blink, say nothing. Wait for them to run through the possibilities. Wait for them to start worrying.”
BLIND BLAKE
This is the only known photograph of Blind Blake, whose life—and death—remain something of a mystery.
Born Arthur Blake in 1896 in (probably) Jacksonville, Florida, Blind Blake’s distinctive guitar playing sounded like a ragtime piano. Blind from birth, he is still regarded as the unrivaled master of ragtime blues finger-picking, who could play a complete band arrangement by himself. Between 1926 and 1932 he recorded more than eighty tracks for Paramount, which were big sellers in their day. After Paramount’s bankruptcy Blake became a heavy drinker and died, by accident or disease, at the age of thirty-eight. But there is also a story that he was murdered in Margrave, Georgia.
“You know that old expression ‘He could play the guitar just like ringing a bell’? That’s what I used to say about Blake. He would pick up that old instrument of his and the notes would just come tumbling out, faster than you could sing them. But each note was just a perfect little silver bell, floating off into the air.”
“For the infantry it all came down to simple arithmetic. If you could inflict two casualties for every one you took, you were ahead.”
“To fail to take the battle to the enemy when your back is to the wall is to perish.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Think like the enemy; be the enemy.
When contemplating the offensive, the first thing you must plan is your inevitable retreat.
If your attack is going too well, you have walked into an ambush.
Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
Never leave enemy ordnance usable.
“All plans fall apart as soon as the first shot is fired.”
Friendly fire isn’t that friendly.
If you can’t attack at one end, you have to defend at the other.
Incoming fire has the right of way.
Double back to positions the enemy thinks are abandoned.
If you’re surrounded, that simplifies your problems.
“A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow.”
Gen. George S. Patton
“Sooner or later, you’ve got to engage the enemy’s main force. You don’t win the war unless you do that. You take it on and you destroy it.”
In order to win, you must be prepared to lose.
Don’t worry about why it went wrong. Just damn well put it right.
Know how to deceive the enemy, and that sooner or later they have to be fought head-on.
If you attack you have to keep on and on attacking until the enemy is run off its feet and the war is won.
Everything in war is improvisation.
Try to look unimportant. They may be low on ammo.
Never retreat, just advance in the opposite direction.
“While coolness in disaster is the supreme proof of a commander’s courage, energy in pursuit is the surest test of his strength of will.”
Field Marshal Viscount Wavell
“They mess with me, they answer to me.”
“War isn’t about dying for your country. It’s about making the enemy die for his.”
Gen. George S. Patton
“Cocked and locked.”
1 Beretta M9 Over two decades of distinguished service in the U.S. Army
2 Glock 17 Extremely simple and extremely reliable
3 Heckler & Koch MP5K A submachine gun for law enforcement
4 M16 assault rifle For a long time the U.S. Army’s weapon of choice
5 SIG-Sauer P226 Swiss excellence
6 Smith & Wesson Military and Police revolver Old-fashioned excellence
“If you really want to know, one at a time is usually enough for me.”
A brave woman is one who stands up when she hears gunshots. She doesn’t dive under the desk.
Show a woman respect, and she’s yours.
Undressing a woman is one of life’s greatest perks. Especially Lycra—can’t beat it.
He smiled. “I was thinking about your dress.”
“You like it?”
“I think it’s great,” he said. “But it could look better. You know, maybe thrown in a heap on the floor.”
“I like women in uniform, possibly because I’ve known very few of the other kind.”
There’s nothing shameful about taking orders from a woman of superior rank.
Only have one affair at a time—that’s complicated enough.
“I don’t do permanent.”
Older women … are worth it.
Female police officers carry handcuffs, which can be handy in bed.
Accept no as an answer, if she’s crazy enough to turn you down.
“She was more than flawless. She was spectacular. She had a revolver in a holster on her right hip, and next to it was a shotgun stuffed muzzle-down in a scabbard mounted between the seats.”
“You like undressing women?”