“I am surprised and embarrassed to be a part of the first American generation to leave the country in far worse shape than it was when we first came into it.”

Fiction is a bridge to the truth that journalism can’t reach.

I learned a long time ago that reality was much weirder than anyone’s imagination.

I will fight for your right to be weird- just as I know you will fight for mine.

I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours.

Never turn your back on fear. It should always be in front of you, like a thing that might have to be killed.

Liberalism itself has failed, and for a pretty good reason. It has been too often compromised by the people who represented it.

Those who fail to learn from the brutal stompings visited on them in the past are doomed to be brutally stomped in the future.

Not a wasted word. This has been a main point to my literary thinking all my life.

Beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life.

In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.

Freedom, Truth, Honour, you could rattle off a hundred such words and behind every one of them would gather a thousand punks, pompous little farts, waving the banner with one hand and reaching under the table with the other.

Words are such a poor medium when you really want someone to feel something.

My greatest talent is in my ability to choose good friends. It’s about as important as things get.

The pleasure is in the path, the search for something good.

There is no such thing as paranoia. Your worst fears can come true at any moment.

In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone.

Boxing is a dying sport, really. Years ago, the world heavyweight champion could be said to have reached the highest pinnacle of sport. Even in this country, boxers were heroes. Think of Henry Cooper and Frank Bruno.

I believe that, in our industry, overexposure tends to create problems for artists, so fortunately, I have been exposed but not overexposed.

But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you’ve got to compromise. You’ve got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.

America is the only country ever founded on a creed.

I’m enjoying the most perfect tranquillity, free from all worries, and in consequence would like to stay this way forever, in a peaceful corner of the countryside like this.

My children grew up very resourceful and strong in spite of them having to live with different families and that I had to drag them all over the country with me.

My responsibility, our responsibility as lucky Americans, is to try to give back to this country as much as it has given us, as we continue our American journey together.

Here in England, everyone’s a pop star, innit, whereas in America they believe in the term artist.