. . . why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow.

Chicago has disappointed her enemies and astonished the world

The intermittent depression that had shadowed him throughout his adult life was about to envelop him once again.

I must confess a shameful secret: I love Chicago best in the cold.

Whenever I finish a book, I start with a blank slate and never have ideas lined up.

Germans grew reluctant to stay in communal ski lodges, fearing they might talk in their sleep. They postponed surgeries because of the lip-loosening effects of anesthetic. Dreams reflected the ambient anxiety. One German dreamed that an SA man came to his home and opened the door to his oven, which then repeated every negative remark the household had made against the government.

Time lost can never be recovered...and this should be written in flaming letters everywhere.