“Although baseball actually began as a game played largely by urban tou...” — David Grann Quote

“Although baseball actually began as a game played largely by urban toughs, its image was soon reconstructed to mirror the country's pastoral myth.”

“I had many different careers early on. I knew I wanted to be a writer. But, like so many people, I didn't know how to be one - other than just do it. I didn't know what form it would take.”

“Journalists are often portrayed as cynical. I often think it's the opposite.”

“Heroes have always served as a reflection of their times, a template of who we are and what we want to be.”

“I guess if I had to pick one interest that is unique, it would be giant squids - I'm disturbingly fascinated by them and even wrote a story about the hunt for them.”

“The outlaw, in the American imagination, is a subject of romance - a 'good' bad man, he is typically a master of escape, a crack shot, a ladies' man.”

“In 1973, I was offered a professorship at the University of California, San Diego. Although I was certainly not unhappy at Nottingham, I had been there over twenty years from starting undergraduate studies to Professor of Applied Statistics and Econometrics, and I thought that a change of scene was worth considering.”

“Europe and the first world to which the United States belongs remain mostly white for now, and the third world, although mixed, contains a lot of nonwhite people.”

“There have been some brilliant and very successful standalone books that work in themselves and also seem to refresh a series. Anyone who writes a series lives in fear of it becoming stale, so you do whatever you can to keep it fresh - although it does feel a bit nerve-racking to write outside of your comfort zone.”

“I'm often asked who my style icon is, and almost every time I try to think of someone current who excites me. And although there are a few women who interest me - Tilda Swinton, Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore - the real answer is Twiggy.”

“Although I'm a scratch Ping-Pong player, there is no possibility of me beating a top professional.”