There are now hundreds of thousands of new engineers that are being trained in China. If people start finding themselves losing their jobs, not to the Chinese here but because China has become such a dominant force - then there could very well be a backlash.

There is also an epidemic of infertility in this country. There are more women who have put off child-bearing in favor of their professional lives. For them, the only way they are going to have a family is to adopt from China.

There isn't much in the way of pure communist spirit, because the whole nation seems to be engaged in capitalistic enterprises. Much of the country still operates under government control.

When the Chinese first came to San Francisco, they were actually welcomed by the mayor and they had special ceremonies for them-again this is when their colony was very small, only a few Chinese.

When you take something extremely broad, then it is not a work of expansion or work of compression. It's hard because you have to decide what to throw out.

The worst... was what the Pakistani soldiers did to the Bengali women after their failed rebellion.

Almost all people have this potential for evil, which would be unleashed only under certain dangerous social circumstances.

Your first duty as a writer is to write to please yourself. And you have no duty towards anyone else.

I may attempt a novel. I think that no matter what you write, it requires being honest with oneself, and you have to pull yourself out of the whirlwind of daily life.

Racism is always there underneath, but usually it is exploited in these times of economic crisis, and it's hard to find out when one slides into another.

I don't mind solitude. I love talking to other people, but I do need my space.

I have certainly amassed many historical research gathering skills.

I have to finish this book tour of almost 30 cities.

I received an honorary doctorate for my work. Maybe one of these works is considered the equivalent of a Ph.D.

It is very difficult to hang onto the relics of history.

Now, most of the new immigrants coming to this country are from Asia as opposed to Europe.

Often, what you see in the media is driven by economic forces.

There isn't much discussion of ruling class in America even in Boston, probably one of the most class-conscious cities in the country?

They probably do have an Asian Barbie.

We have to keep in mind that it's not just about the numbers of people who died; it's also the manner which many of these victims met their deaths.