A man writing a letter is a man in the act of thinking, and it was an exercise Reagan obviously enjoyed. After his first meeting with Gorbachev, for example, he sent a 'Dear Murph' letter about it to his old friend George Murphy, a former senator and actor who had once played Reagan's father in a film.

Schoolteachers seemed determined to persuade me that 'classic' is a synonym for 'narcotic'.

Serious journalism need not be solemn.

There is a growing literature about the multitude of journalism's problems, but most of it is concerned with the editorial side of the business, possibly because most people competent to write about journalism are not comfortable writing about finance.

Skins tanned to the consistency of well-traveled alligator suitcases.

People seem to enjoy things more when they know a lot of other people have been left out of the pleasure.

Television was the most revolutionary event of the century. Its importance was in a class with the discovery of gunpowder and the invention of the printing press, which changed the human condition for centuries afterward.