Two lives met across death and centuries. To ask what it meant is meaningless. There is no destiny. But sometimes there is bravery

What five books would I like to be remembered for? Well... Tau Zero, I like that one especially. It was somewhat of a tour de force, and I think it got across what I was trying for.

A fanatic is a man who, when he's lost sight of his purpose, redoubles his effort.

My knowledge of the human psyche is as yet imperfect. Certain areas won't yield to computation.

I wrote the first book, Harvest of Stars, and as I was writing it, I saw that certain implications had barely been touched on... It's perfectly obvious that two completely revolutionary things are going on, with cybernetics, and biological science.

The single definition of government I've ever seen that makes sense is that it's the organization which claims the right to kill people who won't do what it wants.

Give fear no hold on you. Keep sinews loose and senses open, ready at every instant to flow with the rush of action.