Thomas Paine, so celebrated and so despised as he traveled through the critical events of

his time, has long appealed to biographers. Paine was present at the creation both of the United States and of the French Republic. His eloquence, in the pamphlet 'Common Sense,' propelled the American colonists toward independence.
Edmund Morgan

'Forever Amber,' written by Kathleen Winsor in 1944, was banned in Boston at the time of its publication as obscene and offensive. This alone would have been enough to excite my interest, but in 1956, it was sitting inoffensively on the shelves of the small country library on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, where my family spent its summers.
Susanna Moore

To walk out on a marriage and leave a child was painful.
Roger Lloyd-Pack

Photography gives you the opportunity to use your sensibility and everything you are to say something about and be part of the world around you. In this way, you might discover who you are, and with a little luck, you might discover something much larger than yourself.
Peter Lindbergh

Sarah Vaughan is one of my greatest heroes. She personifies what an artist is all about, taking risks, daring to go beyond the boundaries of safety and convention. It takes courage to share your vulnerability.
Claron McFadden

Favorite subject? I would have to say creative writing.
Bindi Irwin

I'm an eccentric English actor, and there's a lot of us around.
Ian Mckellen

I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone.
Robin Williams

The truth is that I've always wanted to be an actor, ever since I was a child. I used to see these English movies which were shown to us in our school every Saturday, and then I used to enact the hero's part in my head.
Randeep Hooda

I took my iPod to the Apple store here in Manhattan and asked them to replace the battery. And they explained to me that Apple does not offer a service to replace the battery in the iPod, and my best bet was to buy a new iPod.
Casey Neistat

Gemeoss

We live in a society bloated with data yet starved for wisdom. We're connected 24/7,

yet anxiety, fear, depression and loneliness is at an all-time high. We must course-correct. Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey While not my personal favorite of the Disney princess films, 'The Little Mermaid' wins hands-down in my book for best Disney adaptation. Little girls waited for more than 150 years for Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid' to have a happy ending. Walt Disney finally gave it to her. Alethea Kontis We cannot get by Auschwitz. We should not even try, as great as the temptation is, because Auschwitz belongs to us, is branded into our history, and - to our benefit! - has made possible an insight that could be summarized as, 'Now we finally know ourselves.' Gunter Grass In countries operating a largely capitalist system, there does not appear to be a wide understanding among its actors and overseers of either its advantages or its hazards. Edmund Phelps Mix CDs are interesting. I'm known more for my artist albums...

It's nice coming to Nashville, and we have four-bedroom house and a dog, and we

go swimming a lot. We get down here and spread out a lot, and I miss my sweet tea and my cornbread and my good southern cooking - but I'm down here eating pretty for two weeks and I'm ready to go back to New York City. Justin Townes Earle I hope everybody will go back to the negotiating table. I've always said this is the only way forward. Mohamed ElBaradei I'm the type of artist who touches people, that's the type of artist that I am. Jacob Lusk Writing is a fine therapy for people who are perpetually scared of nameless threats... for jittery people. William Styron Comedy wasn't something I chose - it chose me. Pauly Shore When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do. Whitney Houston When I see old photos of me on the beach I don't look too bad... but it's hard trying to breathe in for such a long time when I spot the photographers! Gary Lineker St...

'Clueless' is an adaptation of 'Emma' by Jane Austen. It works either way: if you

know the book and if you don't. Jason Moore Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards. Jules Verne My favorite foods are things that aren't great to eat, like pizza. Stephen Pagliuca My martial arts came a lot from my uncle, who actually taught martial arts through the military. He was a black belt in tae kwon do, but also, he used a lot of military-style fighting where it's not the high kicks or anything like that. It's basically defeat your opponent as fast as possible. Brian Tee Memory is not pure. Memories told are not pure memories; memories told are stories. The storyteller will change them. I've always been interested in that. Alice McDermott It was always a dream as I was growing up. I would watch movies, mostly American movies, and be so engrossed in those stories, all I wanted to do was be there. I wanted to be part of that romance or that fantasy or be that warrior or that struggling soul who finally makes it g...

Our ancestors are totally essential to our every waking moment, although most of us don't

even have the faintest idea about their lives, their trials, their hardships or challenges. Annie Lennox I grew up with the Woodstock generation. I went to Woodstock, and like everybody in my school, I wanted to be in a rock-and-roll band, and most of us were. But I also grew up with a lot of piano lessons and a lot of classical music training. John Tesh I got a chance to meet Terrence Howard and hang out with him. Juicy J I'm paranoid about shopping. I get irritable. I find it tedious and taxing. People say shopping is retail therapy, but I need therapy after shopping. Anushka Sharma Fear is not a friend of mine. But it's something to have a healthy awareness of. Orlando Bloom I am not Shakespeare or Hemingway, but I have written stories on tennis that were brilliant. Ion Tiriac When you're winning, you're a hero. When you're losing, you're a bum... I'm as bad as the fans, believe me. If they only knew how I hate losing and what we go thro...

As long as we're focused on spending, there are only two ways to do that:

One is spend less, and Democrats have no solutions for that. Or we have pro-growth policies that make the economy grow so the dead-weight cost of government becomes a smaller percentage of the economy and therefore less expensive. Grover Norquist Models are like athletes: You burn hard and fast. Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann I've become saucy. Emma Bunton It's hard to juggle being a businessperson with being a creative person. You have to organize yourself - PR needs me for PR, and the licensing division needs me for licensing, the bridal people need me for bridal. Vera Wang A lot of things trigger my inspiration. It can be the most banal things. Manolo Blahnik I'm not looking to freak people out - eating rodents or bugs. I don't do that anymore. Anthony Bourdain My father was a Methodist and my mother was a Baptist. T. D. Jakes What I tell everyone, and I really do for myself is, I have a long-run dream, which is I want to work on stuff that I think...

'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' is one of the most famous books of

all Japanese literature, written by the great poet Basho in 1689. Richard Flanagan It was no mystery why Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold had singled me out as a prime prospect for their heinous crime. My grandfather, Julius Rosenwald, was the chairman of the board of Sears, Roebuck and Co. His prominence made me an ideal choice. Armand Deutsch I like sundresses with cowboy boots, little shorts with big wedge heels and a big piece of turquoise. I also love classic, Old Hollywood romantic styles. I'm 'country girl meets city girl' circa 1930. Kirsten Prout Scientists who study play, in animals and humans alike, are developing a consensus view that play is something more than a way for restless kids to work off steam; more than a way for chubby kids to burn off calories; more than a frivolous luxury. Robin Marantz Henig The '60s weren't my cup of tea. I never bought that philosophy that, you know, we're all brothers and that'll solve everything. And...

Until every soul is freely permitted to investigate every book and creed and dogma for

itself, the world cannot be free. Robert Green Ingersoll Exercise is about being grateful for the body you have and sustaining the life you have. Nicole Ari Parker From the days of biplanes and silk scarves, the aviator has been the archetype of masculine glamour. Aviators have personified national ideals, from French elan to Soviet party discipline. They've inspired lust and admiration. They've turned sunglasses and short, utilitarian leather jackets into fashion statements. Virginia Postrel The great thing about making picture books is that you can make absolutely anything you want happen. It's a bit like making a film, but you don't need lots of money for actors and costumes - you just need pens, paper, and your imagination. Mini Grey If you're famous, I don't - for the life of me - I don't understand why any famous person would ever be on Twitter. George Clooney I would definitely like to start working with more people over age 7. Beck Be...

To be sure, Kennedy did not discount the importance of words in rallying the nation

to meet its foreign and domestic challenges. Winston Churchill's powerful exhortations during World War II set a standard he had long admired. Kennedy was hardly unmindful of how important a great inaugural address could be. Robert Dallek If you have a pair of shoes that hurt, don't wear them. The ugliest thing that I think I've seen is a woman walk like her feet hurt. It's awful, so make sure your shoes fit. Kelly Rowland I make sure I get a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit. I am a big fruit man; I am a vegetable man, anyway. Magic Johnson When people tell me they are going to go scrapbooking, I say, 'Why don't you make it yourself.' It's like chocolate-chip cookies. People buy the cookie-dough roll and slice it, and then they lay it on a cookie sheet. That's not making chocolate-chip cookies. Amy Sedaris Dear Chicago, when I wake up in the morning and see your skyline - the terra cotta of the Wrigley Building, the height of the Willis ...

A 5-acre school each in Noida and Gurgaon is what we have; it costs Rs.

50 crore to buy the land and another Rs. 50 crore to build the property. That's the capital cost alone.Shiv Nadar What is it like to get in someone's head and hunt them from inside their eyes? That's so freaky to me.Brian J. Smith I fell in love with L.A. To me, it is the most quintessentially American city.Jeremy Scott I don't understand how those old bands did it. We worked out early on that if we did three gigs in a row and went out afterwards, we'd lose our voices. We know our limits.Winston Marshall Coos Bay is a sports-minded town. You had to be an athlete to be somebody.Steve Prefontaine When I was in desperate trouble for maybe eight or nine years, I went to a neuropsychiatrist.Gene Wilder The digitisation of money, the rapid expansion of internet access and, of course, the adoption of mobile phones have created the perfect conditions to make it easier, secure, and affordable to save, spend, give, and borrow.Dan Schulman Playing football...

In his second Inaugural Address, on March 5, 1821, Monroe admitted at last to a

general depression of prices, but only as a means of explaining the great decline in the federal revenue. Despite this, he asserted that the situation of America presented a 'gratifying spectacle.' Murray Rothbard My mission is to support our service members. They're volunteers, and if they're going to go to a hostile place like Afghanistan, I think we owe it to them to back them up and try to help them get through it. Gary Sinise I lived in Cuba - I was there for one year in the 1950s. We built the famous nightclub, which is still there, Tropicana, and a restaurant, Montecatini, that I opened is still there. I was there when the U.S. ambassador said everyone must leave because Castro was arriving the next morning. Sirio Maccioni Facebook is looking to help you distribute content to who you want to distribute to. Facebook gets a lot better if you put each of your friends into either your 'close friend' or 'acquaintance' list. Robert Scoble I ...