Nothing is eternally stable, and even Kansas isn't really in Kansas anymore. The earth is in a constant state of flux.

The most difficult task for anyone wandering through a foreign land with the hope of gaining some insight into it is the profound need to come to terms with the lives and thoughts of strangers.

To be perfectly honest the old habits, specifically deadlines, still very much inform what I do. I am brutally disciplined about getting manuscripts in on time.

I find the science behind major natural events almost more interesting than the way in which those same events wreak their effects on human society.

I've come to accept who my readers turn out to be, rather than having some sort of demographic target.

I think they will never really enjoy true democracy in China.

I don't hero worship for the sake of hero worship. When I find people who are truly remarkable - and I think Joseph Needham is a classic example - I do value their counsel.

I was on the far side of the dream.

There is no formula for generating the authentic warmth of love. It cannot be copied.

For Lily, there was only her phantom lover, bold enough, arrogant enough, crazy enough to dare follow her here when he was in far more danger than she could ever be.

Let go of thought, become still and alert, and don't try to understand or explain.

Let us read thoughtfully; this is a great secret in the right use of books.

The only good reason for swimming, so far as I can see, is to escape drowning.

Wagner is the Puccini of music.

The media is comparable to government-probably passes government in raw power.

The truth is you are the pure Spirit. The second truth is that there is a all-pervading Divine power of love. This power of love does all the living work.

Denouncing evil is a far cry from doing good.