"Well, religion has been passed down through the years by stories people tell around the campfire. Stories about God, stories about love. Stories about good spirits and evil spirits."

"Would it not be much better to have a president who deliberately lied to the people because he thought a war was essential than to have one who was so dumb as to be taken in by intelligence agencies, especially those who told him what he wanted to hear?"

"The leadership lost its nerve. Instead of taking the lead in the reform movement... they pulled the plug on it. They tried and are still trying to return the church to the dry ice of the previous century and a half."

"It was generally believed that Catholics were not interested in arts and science graduate schools. They weren't going to be intellectuals. And so I put the theses to the test. And they all collapsed."

"I was a little fat pudgy kid with big thick glasses, and I was quiet and never said a word, you know - teachers loved me, straight-A student."

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of."

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

"How long most people would look at the best book before they would give the price of a large turbot for it?"