“Going to war is a rare experience in American culture, so it's easy fo...” — Phil Klay Quote

Going to war is a rare experience in American culture, so it's easy for simple notions to gain a lot of weight. The reality is always more complex.

I always wrote - not about war, necessarily, but I always wrote stories. I tried to write while I was in Iraq. It's not really - I didn't do a very good job, and not about war.

I doubt there's anything you could say to Donald Rumsfeld that would puncture the armor of his narcissism.

Political novels are full of pitfalls, particularly for a novelist with strong political leanings.

You come back from war, and you have a certain authority to talk about war.

In Chinese culture, it wouldn't occur to kids to question or talk back to their parents. In American culture, kids in books, TV shows and movies constantly score points with their snappy back talk. Typically, it's the parents who need to be taught a life lesson - by their children.

African American culture is American culture.

There's a kind of integrity to being an observer of a culture. I think Canadians have that privilege innately. We are, like, the observers of the American culture.

I think mothers get a raw deal in American culture, so I've been defending them. I have three daughters, and I know that as they become mothers, they got a lot more gentle towards me!