Poul Anderson's 'The High Crusade' may have had a greater impact on my development as a writer than any other book I ever read.

My first published novel was 'Mother of Demons,' which is simply 'The High Crusade' standing on its head. Poul Anderson placed his medieval human heroes in a futuristic alien setting; I placed my futuristic human heroes in a bronze age alien setting.

By the time I was twenty-three, I'd given up any thought of becoming a fiction writer, and I didn't return to the craft for over two decades. But, at the age of forty-five, return I did.

No, I had not read any other comedian's book. Not that I don't enjoy other comedians; I'm just not a reader.

Next to religion, baseball has had a greater impact on our American way of life than any other American institution.

There's no greater gift than thinking that you had some impact on the world, for the better.