A literary achievement of the highest order.

When it comes time to sit down and write the next book, you're deathly afraid that you're not up to the task. That was certainly the case with me after Snow Falling on Cedars.

The status quo was rote memorization and recitation in classrooms thronged with passive children who were sternly disciplined when they expressed individual needs.

My father is a practicing criminal law attorney in the Seattle area.

At one level you're condemned to the voice you have. But within those confines, you have a certain amount of freedom to range among your possible voices.

There are things in this universe that we cannot control, and then there are the things we can. . . . Let fate, coincidence, and accident conspire; human beings must act on reason.

What some people interpret as brooding melancholy is serenity. I don't feel required to grasp all the time.

accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.

There's a certain nostalgia and romance in a place you left.

It's a brooding melancholy that haunts me.

I'm interested in themes that endure from generation to generation.

Don’t just have dreams. Take actions too. To make it possible, begin every dream with a simple action and your interest will beam out.

Sometimes, if you have faith in people they'll surprise you. Mom and Dad taught me that. Risk is the price of believing most people want to be good.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.

I asked a Jewish man, "Do you know where Michigan Avenue is?" He said, "Yes", and walked away.

Do not read the newspapers.

I have been searching for time past all my life.

I believe that the camera has aided animal welfare by giving a platform and a vision [for bringing] awareness to the most important animal-welfare issues worldwide.

It's time for somebody to lead all of America's niggers . . all the people who feel left out of the political process.

The dangers gather as the treasures rise.

The image of myself which I try to create in my own mind in order that I may love myself is very different from the image which I try to create in the minds of others in order that they may love me.