Most of us, like the assembly line worker, have jobs that are too small for our spirit. Jobs are not big enough for people.

Chicago is not the most corrupt American city. It's the most theatrically corrupt.

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 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.

When it comes to the news, the corporate view is `objective,' all else is propaganda.

I've always felt, in all my books, that there's a deep decency in the American people and a native intelligence - providing they have the facts, providing they have the information.

I want a language that speaks the truth.