In terms intellectually, [what] shaped my life was the whole Munich thing [the Munich Agreement] that I knew about all my life, in terms of how large powers make decisions that affect small countries, and the unintended consequences of that. The other part is I knew about the Holocaust. l just didn't know that it applied to my family. But that did affect the way I thought about what I was seeing as ethnic cleansing in the Balkans; there's no question about that.

I have to tell you, my seven-year-old granddaughter said to my daughter, her mother, 'So what's the big deal about Grandma Maddy having been Secretary of State? Only girls are Secretaries of State.' Most of her lifetime, it's true. But at the time it really was a big deal.

I felt that America's duty was not to try to do everything itself, but to foster a sense of commitment that would bring out the best in every country.

China is in its own category - too big to ignore, too repressive to embrace, difficult to influence, and very, very proud.

There are an awful lot of things going on that need understanding and explanation, but - to put it mildly - the world is a mess.

I got married, I really waited a long time - three days after I graduated.

I'm not a person who thinks the world would be entirely different if it was run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten what high school was like.