I worked for a brief spell as a journalist, but soon I discovered that I didn't want to be a journalist - I wanted to be a historian.

I arrived from Harvard, where I had studied philosophy and the history of ideas, with a bias toward literature and formal thought.

The notion of 'history from below' hit the history profession in England very hard around the time I came to Oxford in the early 1960s.

I would not minimize the digital divide, which separates the computerized world from the rest, nor would I underestimate the importance of traditional books.

The American revolutionaries believed in the power of the word. But they had only word of mouth and the printing press. We have the Internet.

Digital data are more fragile than printed material.

The fact that I spend a lot of time in the 18th century doesn't mean I'm not concerned with the 21st.

It's important to make clear to all the schools at Harvard the central role of the library.

My work has taken me from historical research to involvement in electronic publishing ventures to the directorship of the Harvard University Libraries.

You ought to be ironical the minute you get out of bed. You ought to wake up with your mouth full of pity.

Should I ever marry, Watson, I should hope to inspire my wife with some feeling which would prevent her from being walked off by a housekeeper when my corpse was lying within a few yards of her.

Where would rock and roll be without feedback?

No, I'm the infamous Edward Teller.

There's a ton of truth in Flannery O'Connor's notion that "Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days."

You only get one Alan Bond in your lifetime. And I've had mine

When it comes to software, I much prefer free software, because I have very seldom seen a program that has worked well enough for my needs, and having sources available can be a life-saver.

How many therapists does it take to change a lightbulb? One, as long as the lightbulb wants to change.

I'm happy we have three healthy children and we'll stay with three healthy children.

I was not a Mouseketeer, but a lot of people think I was.