We are all what we are, in large degree, because of others who have helped, coached, taught, counseled, who set a standard by example, who've taken an interest in our interests, opened doors, opened our minds, helped us see, who gave encouragement when we needed it, who reprimanded or prodded when we needed it, and at critical moments, inspired.

I think it's best to pick a biographical subject who lives to a ripe old age. Older people tend to relax and speak their minds. They're dropping some of the masks that they've been wearing. There's a candor.

I love all sides of the work but that doesn't mean it isn't hard.

To write is to think, and to write well is to think well.

A nation that forgets its past can function no better than an individual with amnesia.

It was an utterly phenomenal achievement.

Courage is contagious. If a leader shows courage, others get the idea.