When my first novel was published, I went in great excitement round bookshops in central London to see if they had stocked it.

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.

I’ve suppressed my aspirations to forget all rationality and let the moment explain everything, for nothing to be said and everything understood. If only I knew how to let these feelings out.

Build Icebergs, Not Skyscrapers

And I always heard people in New York never get to know their neighbors.

The United Nations cannot stand by and witness the destruction of the people of West Papua.

I do what I believe in. I do good work, and the people who appreciate it, fine, and those who don't, fine, that's good.

Asking for advice is an act of humility.... The act alone says, "I need you." The decision maker and the adviser are pushed into a closer relationship.

If the script grabs me and appeals to me, I'm really very keen to work on it.

Music: what life, what living itself sounds like.

You really can't turn on TLC without seeing us.

She might have melted a heart of stone, but nothing can melt a heart of wood.