Being a nerd, which is to say going to far and caring too much about a subject, is the best way to make friends I know. For me, the spark that turns an acquaintance into a friend has usually been kindled by some shared enthusiasm like detective novels or Ulysses S. Grant.

The true American patriot is by definition skeptical of the government.

Even writers need relief from words.

There are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who alphabetize their record collections, and the kind who don't.

Oh my dear, idealists are the cruelest monsters of them all.

American history is a quagmire, and the more one knows, the quaggier the mire gets.

My ideal picture of citizenship will always be an argument, not a sing-along.