I very much wanted to be editor of the 'New Statesman!' But I never wanted to be prime minister, except maybe as a little boy.
Paul JohnsonHell is being trapped in a night-club with the'beautiful people'and forced to live in a'luxury penthouse flat'.
Paul JohnsonFor me this is the vital litmus test: no intellectual society can flourish where a Jew feels even slightly uneasy.
Paul JohnsonThe writer learns to write, in the last resort, only by writing. He must get words onto paper even if he is dissatisfied with them. A young writer must cross many psychological barriers to acquire confidence in his capacity to produce good work-especially his first full-length book-and he cannot do this by staring at a piece of blank paper, searching for the perfect sentence.
Paul JohnsonMy grandfather used to say, "Learn to like art, music and literature deeply and passionately. They will be your friends when things are bad". It is true: at this time of year, when days are short and dark, and one hardly dares to open the newspapers, I turn, not vainly either, to the great creators of the past for distraction, solace and help.
Paul Johnson