To many, Heathrow in August is a paradigm of Hell.

If I see a door ajar, I push on it to see how far it will open, and if it opens wide I go through it.

As a child I found railroad stations exciting, mysterious, and even beautiful, as indeed they often were.

If anti-Semitism is a variety of racism, it is a most peculiar variety, with many unique characteristics. In my view as a historian, it is so peculiar that it deserves to be placed in a quite different category. I would call it an intellectual disease, a disease of the mind, extremely infectious and massively destructive.

I don't write huge books any more. I used to write 1,000 printed pages, but now I write short books. I did one on Napoleon, 50,000 words - enjoyed doing that. He was a baddie. I did one on Churchill, which was a bestseller in New York, I'm glad to say. 50,000 words. He was a goodie.

Euphemism is a human device to conceal the horrors of reality.

Human beings are infinitely worth studying, especially the peculiarities that often go along with outstanding gifts.