Writing is not a genteel profession; it's quite nasty and tough and kind of dirty.

China was not at all what I expected it to be. I had an image of China as a very quaint and mysterious and peaceful place. Well, it's quaint and mysterious in some respects, but not in the ways I had thought. The people are mysterious. They don't often tell you what they feel.

I grew up in New England at the edge of the Atlantic and have for many years been an avid rower. I've rowed in various places, including the Ganges in India, the River Shannon in Ireland, and the Sea of Galilee.

There's as much revealed in the way a person lifts a glass as in what they say about some political issue.

We are not cured of alcoholism. What we have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our daily activities.

I have tremendous faith in President Obama's skills. He's a long-term visionary.

All that time, you go, 'God, am I slipping away here?' And then something great happens, you get a call, and work begets more work.

The President's extraordinary commitment to religious liberty has been obvious since the very beginning of his presidency - just two weeks after his inauguration, Donald Trump attended the National Prayer Breakfast where he stressed the importance of preserving and cherishing religious values.