When I was a child I had something called Perthes' Disease which meant I was on crutches, so I was bullied at school and all that sort of stuff.

To begin impatiently is the worst mistake a writer can make

If you smash a city when you're trying to capture it, you actually end up providing the perfect terrain for the defenders while blocking the access for your own armoured vehicles.

I just write the sort of book that I would enjoy reading myself, a book that is both scholarly and recreates the experience of people at that time.

Few things reveal more about political leaders and their systems than the manner of their downfall.

I believe passionately in preemptive pessimism, especially before a book comes out. I expect the worst both from reviewers and sales, and then, with any luck, I may be proved wrong.

I think it's outrageous if a historian has a 'leading thought' because it means they will select their material according to their thesis

I joined the Army in 1965 and served with the 11th Hussars, which I loved. The regiment was so relaxed - a salute was more like a friendly wave.

The duty of a historian is simply to understand and then convey that understanding, no more than that.

I feel slightly uneasy at the way historians are consulted as if history is going to repeat itself. It never does.

The British bombing of Caen beginning on D-Day in particular was stupid, counter-productive and above all very close to a war crime.

We know how to read traffic lights, but what don't you know how to read spiritual signs?

Whoever controls the money controls you.

With your laugh my sorrows are relieved, with your love I forget about my problems, and by your side everything is better.

Ask yourself whether you are happy and you will cease to be so.

The main reason for the colossal objects is the obvious one, to expand and intensify the presence of the vessel - the object.

She was everything he'd ever wanted, beauty and fire arching against his despoiling hands.

Without putting the brakes on out-of-control campaign contributions from individuals and corporations - it will be business as usual, with 1 percent of Americans pulling the strings.

The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.

My friend Sally is a nudist. I went to her house. The closets have no doors. The walls are covered with see-through wallpaper.