Think of what's stored in an 80- or a 90-year-old mind. Just marvel at it. You've got to get out this information, this knowledge, because you've got something to pass on. There'll be nobody like you ever again. Make the most of every molecule you've got as long as you've got a second to go.

I want to praise activists through the years. I praise those of the past as well, to have them honored.

I thought, if ever there were a time to write a book about hope, it's now.

The issue is jobs. You can't get away from it: jobs. Having a buck or two in your pocket and feeling like somebody.

I cannot even picture myself retiring. What would I do? I'll always be doing something, asking somebody questions, even if there weren't a book.

I'm called an oral historian, which is something of a joke. Oral history was here long before the pen, long before Gutenberg and the printing press. The difference is I have a tape recorder in my hand.

I hope that memory is valued - that we do not lose memory.