Insights Don't Usually Arrive At My Desk,

When I Began To Read As An Adult, My First Big Enthusiasm Was Evelyn Waugh. I Read Almost Exclusively Novelists Of A Generation Back. I Did The Russians, Then I Started Getting More Up To Date.

For What's The Point Of Breeding Children, If Each Generation Does Not Improve On What Went Before.

What [margaret Thatcher] Made A Play For Was The Acquisitive: Our Greedy Nature. She Set Aside Other Things Like An Identification With Community, Altruism. The Only Collective That She Understood Was: Rally Around And Slay The Enemy.

Read Becoming A Writer By Dorothea Brande. Then Do What It Says, Including The Tasks You Think Are Impossible. You Will Particularly Hate The Advice To Write First Thing In The Morning, But If You Can Manage It, It Might Well Be The Best Thing You Ever Do For Yourself. This Book Is About Becoming A Writer From The Inside Out. Many Later Advice Manuals Derive From It. You Don't ­really Need Any Others, Though If You Want To Boost Your Confidence, "how To" Books Seldom Do Any Harm. You Can Kick-start A Whole Book With Some Little Writing Exercise.

Like A Historian, I Interpret, Select, Discard, Shape, Simplify. Unlike A Historian, I Make Up People's Thoughts.