But that isn't my life. I have said many times I don't want to be considered one who once flew fighters. That's not who I am. I devoted the subsequent 50 years - more - to writing.

Sometimes you are aware when your great moments are happening, and sometimes they rise from the past. Perhaps it's the same with people.

What is the ultimate impulse to write? Because all this is going to vanish.

I like to write about certain things that if they are not written about are not going to exist.

Life passes into pages if it passes into anything.

As I look back, I see that life is like a game of solitaire and every once in a while there is a move.

You write for glory. You play for glory. There's an ambition to excel, isn't there, to be a star? To score more, to do more, even when it's a team sport. So I think striving for glory is a natural subject for a writer. Seeking fame.