I'm not sure Lincoln would fare well if he were a presidential candidate today.

Well, it seems to me Lincoln, I suppose, is kind of a model of a particular sort of presidency, a presidency that first of all is elected by a minority of the votes.

If you think about it, the historian's task is like that of the detective.

Maybe I will write a memoir, perhaps I'll do some essays, or maybe I will write a mystery story.

The more I have studied Lincoln, the more I have followed his thought processes, the more I am convinced that he understood leadership better than any other American president.

I love mysteries, and I read them every night before I go to bed.

Lincoln was not a good impromptu speaker; he was at his best when he could read from a carefully prepared manuscript, though maybe a teleprompter could have helped that!

Hey! Jack the Wanker! Over here! I want your autograph!

Physical reality is one of the biggest horror movies of all, and you know how we love horror movies.

You know, you're very strong" Nicola said."Thank you.""That's no compliment. It's your weakness. If you weren't so strong you wouldn't have to take it and so you wouldn't.

The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 represented precisely such a hope - that America had learned from its past and acted to secure a better tomorrow.

It is superfluous to be humble on one's own behalf; so many people are willing to do it for one.

The road to glory would cease to be arduous if it were trite and trodden; and great minds must be ready not only to take opportunities but to make them.

Rock bottom; that's a fishing term.

The Holocaust is not a cheap soap opera. The Holocaust is not a romantic novel. It is something else.

The unclouded eye was better, no matter what it saw.

A picture lives by its legend - not by anything else.