Books are messengers of freedom. They can be hidden under a mattress or smuggled into slave nations.

If our knowledge is, as I believe, only an island in an infinite sea of ignorance, how can we in our short lifetime find satisfaction in exploring our little island? How can we persuade ourselves to be exhilarated by our meager knowledge and yet not be discouraged by the ocean vistas?

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.

Climaxing a movement for calendar reform which had been developing for at least a century, in 1582 Pope Gregory ordained that October 4 was to be followed by October 15.

[The Library of Congress] is a multimedia encyclopedia. These are the tentacles of a nation.

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

The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource, adding color and suspense to all our life.