American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.

The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.

What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one's heroic ancestors. It's astounding to me, for example, that so many people really seem to believe that the country was founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free.

Heavenly witnesses are a tricky lot, to be used by whoever is closest to Heaven at the time. And legend and theology, which are designed to sanctify our fears, crimes, and aspirations, also reveal them for what they are.

Freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be

Do I really want to be integrated into a burning house?

You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.