I have certainly amassed many historical research gathering skills.
It is very difficult to hang onto the relics of history.
For some reason, I seem to be bothered whenever I see acts of injustice and assaults on people's civil liberties. I imagine what I write in the future will follow in that vein. Whether it's fiction or non-fiction.
After working as a journalist I went to a writing program at Johns Hopkins. It was interesting because it was neither journalistic nor historical, but it emphasized writing style, and afterwards I was asked to write my first book.
Almost all people have this potential for evil, which would be unleashed only under certain dangerous social circumstances.
I don't mind solitude. I love talking to other people, but I do need my space.
I have to finish this book tour of almost 30 cities.
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.
If the conditions were right there could be great acceptance. Often it is only when they pose an economic or political threat that it turns really ugly.
It was clear that the special interest groups in California really wanted the Chinese to be shut out of the country, because that was where the racial tension was the greatest.
It's a wonderful thing to see a segment of our population that is open and eager to learn more about Chinese culture. It has filtered into the mainstream. You see credit-card ads on TV with white couples and Chinese babies.
It's much more difficult to work on a broad subject than on a specific one, because even if it's hard to find the information, if you look hard enough for something specific you will find it, and you will discover things that you wouldn't have thought of before.
Now, most of the new immigrants coming to this country are from Asia as opposed to Europe.
Of course, in the United States, which at the time was a very young country, there were also class distinctions. They weren't as pronounced, but they quickly evolved as well.
Often, what you see in the media is driven by economic forces.