"If we take science as our sole guide, if we accept and hold fast that alone which is verifiable, the old theology must go."

"If you think you can do it, you can."

"Travel and society polish one, but a rolling stone gathers no moss, and a little moss is a good thing on a man."

"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else."

"I'm not well-read, but when I read, I read well."

"I'd read a lot of thrillers about politicians and presidents, but never one where you flip the stereotypes and make good people bad and bad people good."

"Moby Dick - that book is so amazing. I just realized that it starts with two characters meeting in bed that's how my book begins, too, but I hadn't noticed the parallel before, two characters forced to share a bed, reluctantly."

"I love 'Top Chef.' I think it rewrote the book on how food shows are presented on TV."