The chief weapon of sea pirates, however, was their capacity to astonish. Nobody else could believe, until it was too late, how heartless and greedy they were.

Where men had once howled and hacked at one another, and fought nip-and-tuck with nature as well, the machines hummed and whirred and clicked, and made parts for baby carriages and bottle caps, motorcycles and refrigerators, television sets and tricycles-the fruits of peace.

We are never as modern, as far ahead of the past as we like to think we are.

Seems like the only kind of job an American can get these days is committing suicide in some way.

You develop a style from writing a lot.

My special situation was that I was the son and grandson of architects. And so I saw building. We were building the city, and that was exciting.

The other American divisions on our flanks managed to pull out: We were obliged to stay and fight. Bayonets aren't much good against tanks.