During my lifetime I have met dozens of writers and photographers in dozens of different countries. But I have encountered no one who could both write and photograph with the artistry of Robert Vavra.

No man leaves where he is and seeks a distant place unless he is in some respect a failure.

It is difficult to be king when the gods are changing.

First buy a cowboy hat and boots. Then you're on your way to being a Texan.

I wondered how a man ever got an English girl into bed. What did they do with her hockey stick?

A nation becomes what its young people read in their youth. Its ideals are fashioned then, its goals strongly determined.

I had learned volleyball in the Navy, where all the captains and admirals wanted to be spikers, and I found then that a man who can subdue his own desires and master the art of serving others can make himself invaluable. In choosing sides the team captain always chose the good spikers on the first and second choice, but then the spikers would grab his arm and whisper, 'Take Michener.' I was never chosen lower than third, because I was needed. I wasn't good, but I was faithful.