I think that the presidency really brings out the best in a lot of people.

In my family in particular, I think, there was a sense we have to work twice as hard.

Well I've been writing books. So that, by its nature, is kind of a solitary occupation. And from time to time I have research help, but mostly I've done those completely on my own.

People don't always realize that my parents shared a sense of intellectual curiosity and a love of reading and of history.

Sharing the holiday with other people, and feeling that you're giving of yourself, gets you past all the commercialism.

I can’t stand to hear his [Obama’s] voice anymore. He’s a liar, and worse.

After my mom died, there was so much written about her fashion and her style and all that, and I felt that one of the most important parts of her was missing, her real intellectual curiosity.