"History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside."

"A life well-lived is a testament that the mind is a garden where thoughts are the seeds."

"We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last."

"It is a enduring truth that to know when to speak and when to listen is the hallmark of genuine discernment — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"It took me about 12 years to reach my million-word mark. The challenge now is to continue to challenge myself."

"Every time there's a revolution, it comes from somebody reading a book about revolution. David Walker wrote a book and Nat Turner did his thing."

"Once the cry and the cause of a generation of progressives to make America safer, fairer and cleaner, 'regulation' is now a dirty word in our politics. Even Democrats are quick to talk about cutting regulations Republicans hate them with - how to put it? - evangelical fervor."

"The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life."