It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?

America has entered one of its periods of historic madness, but this is the worst I can remember.

Everyone who is not happy must be shot.

Treason is very much a matter of habit, Smiley decided.

The world of spying is my genre. My struggle is to demystify, to de-romanticise the spook world, but at the same time harness it as a good story.

It struck him as a bit unfair that, at the age of eight, he should have manifested the same sense of solitude that haunted him at forty-three.

You can't make war against terror. Terror is a technique of battle. It's a tactic that has been employed since time immemorial. You can conduct clandestine action against terrorists, and that must be done.