I think Americans like the practical; they like the human. And I like both those things myself, and I try and put them into my books.

I think that black Africa is extremely terrifying. Black Africa can become a maelstrom of warring tribes without the outside world needing to feel the need to do anything about it.

I don't think that what's going on in Bosnia is political activity. It's partly political, but it's partly atavistic as well.

It's a necessary quality of a diplomat or a politician that he will compromise. Uncompromising politicians or diplomats get you into the most terrible trouble.

I don't look to find an educated person in the ranks of university graduates, necessarily. Some of the most educated people I know have never been near a university.

Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done.

The written history of the world is largely a history of warfare, because the states within which we live came into existence largely through conquest, civil strife, or struggles for independence.

The great Chinese classics have always said that it's better not to fight; that the clever man achieves his ends without violence; that a battle delayed is better than a battle fought.

The historian ought to be an educated person, writing for other educated people about something which they don't know about, but wish to know about in a way that they can understand.

There are certain wicked people in the world that you can't deal with except by force

The revival of Islam dates from the early years of the 20th century. It was brought about by their humiliation, by their sense of how low they'd fallen compared with the West.

They had buried him under our elm tree, they said -- yet this was not totally true. For he really lay buried in my heart.

When we have a world of only now with no shadows of yesterdays or clouds of tomorrow then saying what we can do will work.

Bipolar disorder, manic depression, depression, black dog, whatever you want to call it, is inherent in our society. It's a product of stress and in my case over-work.

There is no substitute for hard work. There is no such thing as overnight success or easy money.

If you don't love acting more than anything else, don't do it. It's not a normal life. It will take you away from your family, friends and life in general.

I love music, I love all kinds of music, particularly jazz. Jazz is an extension of America. There's no other country in the world that could have produced jazz.

It would be a foolish high representative who worked that way.

Man's life is short; and therefore an honorable death is his immortality.

People are bound to get excited when they see a ten-million-ton starship trying to fly down the street.

Nothing shows up the difference between the things said or read, so much as the daily experience of it.