Art has something to do with the arrest of attention in the midst of distraction.

The pleasure of sport was so often the chance to indulge the cessation of time itself--the pitcher dawdling on the mound, the skier poised at the top of a mountain trail, the basketball player with the rough skin of the ball against his palm preparing for a foul shot, the tennis player at set point over his opponent--all of them savoring a moment before committing themselves to action.

I remember being awed by it - the uniqueness and nicety of style - and I suspect I was a bit jealous because we were more or less of the same generation.

It is also one of the pleasures of oral biography, in that the reader, rather than editor, is jury.

My favorite monologue in the book is Kate Harrington's story of her relationship with Truman.

Rick Bass is one of the best writers of his generation.

I never understood people who don't have bookshelves.