I am eternally grateful. for my knack of finding in great books, some of them very funny books, reason enough to feel honored to be alive, no matter what else might be going on.

New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.

Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.

I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours.

The most exquisite pleasure in the practice of medicine comes from nudging a layman in the direction of terror, then bringing him back to safety again.

I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of rewards or punishments after I am dead.

The only difference between Hitler and Bush is that Hitler was elected .

The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon.

Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.

I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine.