“He had a long thin nose, a moustache like flock wallpaper, sparse, carefully combed hair, and the complexion of a Hovis loaf.”

“What Douglas had once seen as the attractive over-confidence of youth, now looked more like unyielding selfishness.”

“England's civil war had ended in a consensus as the English discovered that they hated foreigners more than they hated their own countrymen.”

“I think Jay is in import and export business as his cards say, but he finally found that the second most valuable commodity today is information.""And?""The most valuable?""People with information," I suggested.”

“When they ask me to become president of the United States I'm going to say, "Except for Washington D.C.”

“It doesn’t take much to make the daily round with one’s employer work smoothly. A couple of ‘yessirs’ when you know that ‘not on your life’ is the thing to say. A few expressions of doubt about things you’ve spent your life perfecting. Forgetting to make use of the information that negates his hastily formed but deliciously convenient theories. It doesn’t take much but it takes about 98.5 per cent more than I’ve ever considered giving”

“Do you ever make silly mistakes? It is one of my very few creative activities.”