History isn't really about the past - settling old scores. It's about defining the present and who we are.

You can learn as much about the history from reading about the present as you can vice versa, that is learning about the present through history, which is what I do for a living.

One of the things I really like about Ford's films is how there is always a focus on the way characters live, and not just the male heroes.

It follows the seasons, beginning each year with the fond expectancy of springtime and ending with the hard facts of autumn.

The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed.

Louis Armstrong is quite simply the most important person in American music. He is to 20th century music (I did not say jazz) what Einstein is to physics.

Do something that will last and be beautiful. It doesn't have to be a bridge-or a symphony or book or a business. It could be the look in the eye of a child you raise or a simple garden you tend. Do something that will last and be beautiful.