I think Americans suspect, without even being able to articulate it, that we're at the end of the American century; that we're at the end of the 100 or 125 or 150 years when we were the undisputed arbiter and leader of the world.

London opens to you like a novel itself. [...] It is divided into chapters, the chapters into scenes, the scenes into sentences; it opens to you like a series of rooms, door, passsage, door. Mayfair to Piccadilly to Soho to the Strand.

I was doing the family grocery shopping accompanied by two children, an event I hope to see included in the Olympics in the near future.

I did not read from a sense of superiority, or advancement, or even learning. I read because I loved it more than any other activity on earth.

All parents should be aware that when they mock or curse gay people, they may be mocking or cursing their own child.

For most of my life the only ceremonies I've been to at which women were the stars were weddings. So I like weddings.

I can't begin to predict how news will be delivered to readers in, say, 100 years. But I do know one thing that hasn't changed: Whatever the delivery system, whether it's a magazine, book or blog, people like vivid writing, strong stories and credible people. So while the venue is changing rapidly, human nature isn't, which I find soothing.