I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better.

Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation, and travel, so broadening at first, contracts the mind.

Gain a modest reputation for being unreliable and you will never be asked to do a thing.

To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it's a paradox of this sort of parallel life. A safari is an expensive experience and it's adjacent to a place where people are having a very tough time.

All places, no matter where, no matter what, are worth visiting.

A novel captures essence that is not possible in any other form.

When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I was in Central Africa; I didn't make a phone call for two years. I was in Uganda for another four years and I didn't make a phone call. So for six years I didn't make a phone call, but I wrote letters, I wrote short stories, I wrote books.