[H]ope takes you by the throat like a stranger, it makes your heart leap.

It was a very funny conference. I knew [Christopher Hitchens] before that. He had always been a good angel to me. He once stole a phrase from me that came out of his mouth on television. I saw his eyes move sideways. I thought, It's alright, you can have it! The conference was light on women. Salman Rushdie showed up, they were doing their own thing. I didn't feel neglected!

History is a set of skills rather than a narrative.

[Margaret Thatcher] aroused such strong loathing in so many people. That's the fact that interests me.

It is all very well planning what you will do in six months, what you will do in a year, but it’s no good at all if you don’t have a plan for tomorrow.

I am sure that all politicians seek the home connection with the voter. But [Margaret Thatcher] carried it to extremes.

To a Brit of my generation, one of the most objectionable things about [Margaret] Thatcher is her falsity. She is a total construct. For one thing, she had a made-over accent.