Buenos Aires is my favorite city. I think it's fantastic - but is a troubled, sort of psychologically troubled city.

Originally I wanted to be a diplomat, and by attrition I started giving up that idea.

In both places [Paraguay and Newfoundland] people rise despite everything - both are pretty tough environments.

There are 60 million of us [britains] crammed into an area the size of a state. So you don't have that feeling of remoteness at all, ever. And that's reflected in the way our media works, and so on.

I tend to prefer traveling in the Third World countries. Like Ethiopia. Or Eritrea.

Paraguay has had a U.S. supermarket boss as its ambassador for a while. He did the job well. He was there because he wanted to be there. Rather than the British diplomat who didn't want to be there.

I don't want to pay good money to hear ordinary people's lunatic views. Most of the people who phone in are [lunatics] - certainly in Britain.

This terrible frustration that we so often feel in the West in not being able to articulate and express ourselves.

I feel better off doing what I know how to do. I feel a strong element of fictional style in travel writing anyway. Some call it creative nonfiction.

I was talking to my publisher in Britain and was told here we are - we are sixty million people and we reckon only four hundred thousand people in Britain really read.

I find the public reaction to writing - it's fascinating in this modern age. Of course people are able to interact with me and email me, and I get quite a few I suppose.

Hire new field systems maintainer" was near the top of my to-do list, right under "uncover massive political conspiracy, " "avenge Buffy's death, " and "don't die.

A critic at best is a waiter at the great table of literature.

Crime and bad lives are the measure of a State's failure, all crime in the end is the crime of the community.

Nothing exists except atoms and empty space everything else is opinion.

Aristotle's metaphysics, roughly speaking, may be described as Plato diluted by common sense. He is difficult because Plato and common sense do not mix easily.

The definition of an extreme authoritarian is one who is willing blindly to assume that government accusations are true without any evidence presented or opportunity to contest those accusations.

Children do better when they feel better.

You come to a point in your life and you may be in bed just thinking about it. Ask yourself what is stopping you from becoming your dreams

I have never earned one penny from any pharmaceutical company. I will never accept one penny from them either. Ever.

I find that so many times when somebody tries to go back in, it sort of isn't as good and you wish they hadn't done it.