Having reached 451 books as of now doesn't help the situation. If I were to be dying now, I would be murmuring, "Too bad! Only four hundred fifty-one." (Those would be my next-to-last words. The last ones will be: "I love you, Janet.") [They were. -Janet.]

That's the harm of Close Encounters: that it convinces tens of millions that that's what just science fiction is.

No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.

I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing — to be clear.

Naturally, since [the Sumerians] didn't know what caused the flood anymore than we do, they blamed the gods. (That's the advantage of religion. You're never short an explanation for anything.)

It is not only the living who are killed in war.

It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.