British diplomats who worked in Iran during the 1980 hostage crisis are deeply upset by Ben Affleck's Oscar-winning film 'Argo,' which suggests they refused shelter to the group who managed to get out of the U.S. embassy.

Fish have water, the bushmen of the Kalahari have sand, and Houstonians have interior décor.

Americans are fascinated by their own love of shopping. This does not make them unique. It's just that they have more to buy than most other people on the planet. And it's also an affirmation of faith in their country.

Even I would find a book about my life pretty dull.

Remember how Margaret Thatcher came to believe that abroad was more important than at home? Didn't do her much good.

When you visit a foreign city you are in it, but not of it, separated by a glass wall. Once, while a student, I was getting dressed in my ground-floor room when a family of Italians crossed the grass to watch, as if I were laid on for their amusement and instruction.

If you read the 'Daily Mail,' you would imagine that the British middle classes lead lives of unremitting misery.