The most important American addition to the World Experience was the simple surprising fact of America. We have helped prepare mankind for all its later surprises.

The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.

There is no disinfectant like success.

A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you.

The computer can help us find what we know is there. But the book remains our symbol and our resource for the unimagined question and the unwelcome answer.

The most important lesson of American history is the promise of the unexpected. None of our ancestors would have imagined settling way over here on this unknown continent. So we must continue to have society that is hospitable to the unexpected, which allows possibilities to develop beyond our own imaginings.

Freedom means the opportunity to be what we never thought we would be.