The death of any man aged 56 is very sad for his widow and family. And no one would deny that Steve Jobs was a brilliant and highly innovative technician, with great business flair and marketing ability.

I don't think you can tell the objective truth about a person. That's why people write novels.

My kind publishers, Toby Mundy and Margaret Stead of Atlantic Books, have commissioned me to write the life of Queen Victoria.

I might be deceiving myself but I do not think that I do have an inordinate fear of death.

I should prefer to have a politician who regularly went to a massage parlour than one who promised a laptop computer for every teacher.

Anti-Semitism is extremely common.

When Christians start thinking about Jesus, things start breaking down, they lose their faith. It's perfectly possible to go to church every Sunday and not ask any questions, just because you like it as a way of life. They fear that if they ask questions they'll lose their Christ, the very linchpin of their religion.