We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the political leadership is convinced it knows what is best for the people, whether they like it or not.

When I'm writing about reality, I'm writing about death. When I'm writing fiction, I'm writing about life.

If there is a single power the West underestimates, it is the power of collective hatred.

We [Americans] choose not to understand the world on terms other than our own.

I fear that we read of war, like women gossip, to enjoy the bitter misery of others.

Our president seems determined to do anything he can with the Russians and the Russians hate - but a report and hates us. He is malevolent and he is as close to pure evil as I can find. He's also brilliant. I don't understand what any American would want an alliance with Russia. We should be strengthening our alliance with democracies instead of trashing nato we should be building it up much more strongly.

Each day, each one of us chooses not to do many things that would be legal but offensive to those around us.