the unconscious forces that govern accessible memory are the most arbitrary of editors and the absolute masters of our lives.

Thunderstorms were rare in California, but when they came they were, like most things in California, larger than life.

The experiences of the heartless are so limited. It is hate that is blind. Love may miss a flaw here and there, but hate misses beauty everywhere.

fiction and lies are both works of creative art, and creation always reveals the creator.

money is an acquired taste that grows as it is fed.

the true and the plausible are rarely the same.

That's the one thing a politician mustn't have - political opinions or principles. He can have prejudices - indeed he must have prejudices and share all the popular political superstitions of the moment as ardently as he can. But he must not have principles. He must never let the people suspect that they cannot eat their cake and have it. He must promise them a defense program and a higher standard of living. He must never use that dreadful little word or.