Books of quotations ... afford me one of the most undemanding but satisfying forms of reading pleasure.

Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more ­effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.

Creativity doesn't flourish in an atmosphere of despotism, coercion and fear.

Work did bestow dignity, status, meaning. Wasn't that why people dreaded unemployment, why some men found retirement so traumatic?

Don't just plan to write - write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.

If all power corrupts, then a doctor, who literally holds life and death in his hands, must be at particular risk.

It is difficult to be generous-minded to those we have greatly harmed.