About 1900 my parents came to the United States as children from what was then the Polish area of Russia.

A parent being called to the school because their child had misbehaved was as serious as a parent being called to the police station because their child had robbed a bank.

I learned quickly, as I tell my graduate students now, there are no answers in the back of the book when the equipment doesn't work or the measurements look strange.

I was also interested in chemistry, but my parents were not willing to buy me a chemistry set.

My parents were determined to move into the middle class.

I read everything: fiction, history, science, mathematics, biography, travel.

Whatever the course, whether the course was boring or interesting to me, whether I was talented in mathematics or not talented in languages, my parents expected A's.

There were two free public libraries within walking distance of my home; I remember taking six books home from every visit, the limit set by the library.

The remoteness of my parents from the schools, so unfashionable today, was often painful for me, but I learned early to deal with an outside and sometimes hard world.

It was good fortune to be a child during the Depression years and a youth during the war years.

The experimenter dealing with nature faces an outside and often hard world. Natures' curriculum cannot be changed.

Unintended jealousy is merciless.

He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why it didn't happen more often.

Revenge is like a poison in our heart before you now it

An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.

My remoteness from women's affairs could be seen from my surprise when I heard that needles had holes in them.

I'm greedy; I'd like to keep most of it for myself and a few others, a few of my friends . . . to keep that superlative high, just on the cusp of each day . . . so that I'd radiate sunshine.

Autumn is no time to lie alone

You should be a hero to yourself. And if you're not... check it out.

The Internet has changed the way we communicate with each other, the way we learn about the world and the way we conduct business.

I do like to explore evil characters in my books.