It's always a challenge to discover the most effective first sentence, and the most effective final sentence, in a chapter for instance, and in the book as a whole.

The American dream is a multi-metaphor made up of distinct regions. Many regions of this country are almost like different countries. Even in one state, northern and southern California are like two separate countries.

Tragedy is the highest form of art.

The heavenly light you admire is fossil-light, it's the unfathomably distant past you gaze into, stars long extinct

A diverse and lively collection, the highest art of the interview.

See, people come into your life for a reason. They might not know it themselves, why. You might not know it. But there's a reason. There has to be

Anyone who teaches knows that you don't really experience a text until you've taught it, in loving detail, with an intelligent and responsive class.