"I wrote about the life of a housing officer in Britain, in a pretty rough area of London. Maybe it was because I'm a big-mouth and an exhibitionist, and I'm slightly egotistical. All those things have to come together for a writer."

“Packed with fascinating personal perspective and testimony, Michael Takiffs A Complicated Man wholly justifies its title. The book is far more than a kaleidoscopic oral biography of President Bill Clinton. Aspect by aspect, it guides us through the struggles of postmodern America, as the most ambitious baby boomer of his generation seeks to modernize the Democratic Party-and, as in a Greek drama, is fated to be destroyed. Veritably, an all-American saga, with a cast of thousands-favorable and unfavorable.”

“Noble bold is an accident of fortune; noble actions characterize the great.”

“The man who has never made a fool of himself in love will never be wise in love.”

Source : Theodor Reik (2002). “Love and Lust: On the Psychoanalysis of Romantic and Sexual Emotions”, p.190, Transaction Publishers

“I engaged upon those activities because I believed that, in the dangerous circumstances which have been created in South Africa, it was my duty to do so.”

“Where is peace to be found? The answer is surprising but clear. In weakness. Why there? Because in our weakness, our familiar ways of controlling and manipulating our world are being stripped away, and we are forced to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are most vulnerable, the peace that is not of this world is mysteriously hidden.”

“There was never any question with me as to which I would choose, my boy or my work. I had to have both.”

“There is still time - in the lee, in the quiet, in the extraordinary light.”

“Tim Robbins had real confidence in college. He literally stole actors from the theater department at UCLA to be in his plays. The department heads got so mad at him”