In general, Hitler embodied the view of any popular newspaper.

Anti-Semitism is extremely common.

I'm like Jane Austen - I work on the corner of the dining table.

We tell ourselves that God is dead, when what we mean is that God is Dad, and we wish him dead.

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.

It is eerie being all but alone in Westminster Abbey. Without the tourists, there are only the dead, many of them kings and queens. They speak powerfully and put my thoughts into vivid perspective.

Everyone writes in Tolstoy's shadow, whether one feels oneself to be Tolstoyan or not.