It's a principle of mine to come into the story as late as possible, and to tell it as fast as you can.

It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?

During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.

A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.

The only reward for love is the experience of loving.

Let's all pretend to be someone else, and then perhaps we'll find out who we are.

I think the greatest single enemy is the misuse of information, the perversion of truth in the hands of terribly skillful people.

The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.

I used to think it was clever to confuse comedy with tragedy. Now I wish I could distinguish them.

Blackmail is more effective than bribery.

A spy, like a writer, lives outside the mainstream population. He steals his experience through bribes and reconstructs it.

to a big pride, a little soul

The relationship between ethics and thrift can be summed up in one sentence. It is wrong to save money at the expense of others. Period.

I don’t want you to be a people-pleaser

It is pointless to complain about the problems of the world as long as we continue contributing to them.

If you want to go to the mall, you have to take security. But it's always cool. The kids are amazing.

If the rabble were lopped off at one end and the aristocrat at the other, all would be well with the country.

If I'm going for advice for anything in my life, I go straight to my father because he has the answers.

A means can be justified only by its end. But the end in its turn needs to be justified.

I learn so much from writing with other musicians, asking questions about their playing style and gear, and hanging out, too.

No great man is ever born too soon or too late.