“I'm enjoying two beautiful visions tonight. Watching you stand there against a marvelous background has to be the most intriguing sunset I have ever experienced.”

“I sometimes marvel that a third-rate writer like me has been able to palm himself off as a second-rate writer.”

“Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knowsnothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement - and we willmake the goal.”

“When you work for someone else, it's called an "attitude problem"; when you work for yourself, it's called integrity.”

“And so a miserable but possible scenario is that countries in the bottom billion oscillate between the traps and limbo, perhaps switching in the process from one trap to another..Let me be clear: we cannot rescue them. The societies of the bottom billion can only be rescued from within. In every society of the bottom billion there are people working for change, but usually they are defeated by the powerful internal forces stacked against them. We should be helping the heroes. So far, our efforts have been paltry: through inertia, ignorance, and incompetence, we have stood by and watched them lose.Let me be clear: we cannot rescue them. These societies of the bottom billion can only be rescued from within.”

“They know the words, but not the music.”

“[In answer to Glenn Cook] My favourite sport is men, and my favourite food is whisky.”