George Pelecanos

In its rather clinical view of death, 'True Grit' rivals the hardboiled world of 'Red Harvest'-era Dashiell Hammett and prefigures Cormac McCarthy by 20 years. ”

True Grit' is one of the few books my sons let me read to them - and paid attention to - when they were younger. ”

I go to church for the cultural element. It's where you go to see Greek people once a week. It's real important to me, and I hope my children see they're part of something bigger than just this family. ”

I'm more apt to shed a tear than my wife about family matters. ”

My take on gentrification and change is it's usually always a better thing, because when you see all these businesses open and flourishing, that means there are more jobs. ”

I've seen firsthand how books can change people's lives. It happened to me. ”

As far as I'm concerned, the voices of Washington, black Washington, it's poetry, man. There's beauty in it. ”

I really feel like people who want to change things need to go out and change it themselves and not look to politicians to do that. ”

I'm a very sentimental, emotional person. ”

I like writing about people who spend their time trying to help others for the greater good. That's what Americans are supposed to be about, right? ”