Bad books always lie. They lie most of all about the human condition.

This Midwestern sky is the nakedest loneliest sky in America. To escape it, people live inside and underground.

In this world, goodness is destined to be defeated.

I am not ashamed to use the word class. I will also plead guilty to another charge. The charge is that people belonging to my class think they're better than other people. You're damn right we're better. We're better because we do not shirk our obligations either to ourselves or to others. . . .we live by our lights, we die by our lights, and whoever the high gods may be, we'll look them in the eye without apology.

Ignorance, if recognized, is often more fruitful than the appearance of knowledge.

Why is it that no other species but man gets bored? Under the circumstances in which a man gets bored, a dog goes to sleep.

I have discovered that most people have no one to talk to, no one, that is, who really wants to listen. When it does at last dawn on a man that you really want to hear about his business, the look that comes over his face is something to see.