Earthlings went on being friendly, when they should have been thinking instead.

How important my books are or anybody's books are, I don't know. I don't think they are terribly important I think that they make people contented during the period they are reading them and this is worth something is to take care of somebody for a couple of hours.

The more pain I train myself to stand, the more I learn. You are afraid of pain now, Unk, but you won't learn anything if you don't invite the pain. And the more you learn, the gladder you will be to stand the pain.

There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind.

People hate it when they're tickled because laughter is not pleasant, if it goes on too long. I think it's a desperate sort of convulsion in desperate circumstances, which helps a little.

All these years, I've been opening the window and making love to the world.

Generally speaking, espionage offers each spy an opportunity to go crazy in a way he finds irresistible.