When I Start Any Book, I Have

Although The Far Territory Of The Extreme Can Exert An Intoxicating Pull On Susceptible Individuals Of All Bents, Extremism Seems To Be Especially Prevalent Among Those Inclined By Temperament Or Upbringing Toward Religious Pursuits. Faith Is The Very Antithesis Of Reason, Injudiciousness A Crucial Component Of Spiritual Devotion. And When Religious Fanaticism Supplants Ratiocination, All Bets Are Suddenly Off.

When A Young Person Is Moved By A Passion And Feels Compelled To Go On This Sort Of Quest, I Think You Have To Let Him. You Can't Stop Him. In Our Culture We Don't Have Formal Rights Of Passage Like In Some Ancient Cultures. Subjecting Yourself To Risk... May Be Something You Have To Go Through To Be A Man Or A Woman.

Having Stumbled Upon A Tolerable Career, For The First Time In My Life I Was Actually Living Above The Poverty Line. My Hunger To Climb Had Been Blunted, In Short, By A Bunch Of Small Satisfactions That Added Up To Something Like Happiness.

Almost Every Magazine Piece I've Ever Written, I Felt Like I Haven't Done It Justice, Like It Was Just A Gloss.

I Think Part Of The Appeal Of Antarctica Is Experiencing Some Sort Of Power, The Forces Of The Natural World.