I picked up the writing on the very day he died. It was the only consolation I could find.

For Catholics before Vatican II, the land of the free was pre-eminently the land of Sister Says-except, of course, for Sister, for whom it was the land of Father Says.

Of course, history is only a muddle of facts and a fuddle of professors, and anyone who thinks it is one clear voice saying "Arise, sir Knight" deserves a life sentence in Camelot.

Saloons provide moments of genuine ecstasy - but only if your soul is at peace and the rest of your life bears contemplating. Otherwise, they are palaces of misery.

The only reason I didn't kill myself after I read the reviews of my first book was because we have two rivers in New York and I couldn't decide which one to jumo into.

The American male doesn't mature until he has exhausted all other possibilities.

Suicide is about life, being in fact the sincerest form of criticism life gets.

If the French were really intelligent, they'd speak English.

The worse we treat people in this country, the more delicately we talk about them.

Mr Michener, as timeless as a stack of 'National Geographics,' is the ultimate Summer Writer. Just as one goes back to the cottage in Maine, so one goes back to one's Michener.

The actual Irish weather report is really a recording made in 1922, which no one has had occasion to change. "Scattered showers, periods of sunshine."

Be true to yourself, be kind to yourself, read and learn about everything that interests you, and keep away from people who bring you down.

Satnav will get us quickly and all-too-predictably from A to B, but the path of life is more interesting when we’re allowed to explore the side streets.

The family wage has been eroded by the same developments that have promoted consumerism as a way of life.

We have a responsibility to be aware of others.

A final word of advice: don't gloat about how well you have done.

The soul of a landscape, the spirits of the elements, the genius of every place will be revealed to a loving view of nature.

The more in harmony with yourself you are, the more joyful you are, and the more faithful you are. Faith is not to disconnect you from reality, it connects you to reality.

Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife.

Understanding different planets in their environments is still really important. So if these planets are dead lifeless worlds, it will still be useful for us.

I normally live in Los Angeles, if you can call it normal living.