A nation fights well in proportion to the amount of men and materials it has. And the other equation is that the individual soldier in that army is a more effective soldier the poorer his standard of living has been in the past.

The way you write affects what you say.

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

Existentialism is the kind of philosophy that makes for legendary children.

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

A book of great beauty and manically exquisite insight with a wild and deadly humor . . . The only American novelist who may conceivably be possessed by genius.

It's not a good idea to put your wife into a novel; not your latest wife anyway.