There was a very serious communist strain among American intellectuals before the war. America was a more tolerant place in those days, and Communists were not treated as pariahs. That ended with the McCarthy era.

I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.

In both cases, weakness and scruples had defeated strength and ruthlessness.

After a certain point, most people, including editors, will tell you everything you do is great.

I imagined it. I wrote it. But I guess I never thought I'd see it.

I like reading history, and actually most authors enjoy the research part because it is, after all, easier than writing.

But the lesson of Abraham's story is that God demands the best we have to offer, that which is most precious to us.