California, the department store state.

The modern film tries too hard to be real. Its techniques of illusion are so perfect that it requires no contribution from the audience but a mouthful of popcorn.

I'm an occasional drinker, the kind of guy who goes out for a beer and wakes up in Singapore with a full beard.

There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.

At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution, once revealed, must seem to be inevitable.

When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it stays split.

The keynote of American civilization is a sort of warm-hearted vulgarity. The Americans have none of the irony of the English, none of their cool poise, none of their manner. But they do have friendliness. Where an Englishman would give you his card, an American would very likely give you his shirt.