When I read it ["Tough Guys Don't Dance"], I don't wince, which is all I ever ask for a book I write.

There is nothing safe about sex. There never will be.

The final purpose of art is to intensify, even, if necessary, to exacerbate, the moral consciousness of people.

The condition that is most disagreeable in your life becomes the most useful one. You know, I feel the same way about the U.S. Army. It was absolutely the worst experience of my life, and it was probably the single most valuable experience.

Writing books is the closest men ever come to childbearing.

Writers don't have lifestyles. They just sit in little rooms and write.

The true religion of America has always been America.