Wives?" she asked, interrupting him. For a moment, he had assumed she was tuning to the novel. Then he saw her waiting, suspicious eyes, so he replied cautiously, "None active," as if wives were volcanoes.

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

The Cold War was over long before it was officially declared dead.

It's easy to forget what intelligence consists of: luck and speculation. Here and there a windfall, here and there a scoop.

Sometimes we have to do a thing in order to find out the reason for it. Sometimes our actions are questions, not answers.

In itself, the practice of deception is not particularly exacting; it is a matter of experience, of professional expertise, it is a facility most of us can acquire.

A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.