"Berry puts that stake in the ground. He's a poet as well as a wonderful writer, and his message is simple: Nature is our teacher. We just need to listen and feel it, and try not to get in its way."

"A favorite children's author of mine. There are a few particular passages that speak so clearly to me; the description of the stone farm house, the family life contained, the woman’s internal life and finding peace in nature. Balance and beauty."

"Proof that the world is becoming more peaceful. It’s not just a question for historians, but a profound statement about human nature and the possibility for a better future. This book may have shaped my outlook more than any other."

"It buries you in the aesthetic of the blue collar steel-town life. Cimino took a script about Russian roulette in Las Vegas and relocated it to Vietnam, and, though historically inaccurate, he created an allegory that perfectly explained the nature of war."

"How can a film composed almost entirely of still frames and of such a brief length be such a revered and influential summation on the very nature of cinematic time? There is nothing else like it in all of cinema. It is perfect"

"People don’t understand the nature of racism here in our country. They don’t get how insidious it is…When you start reading [Mockingbird], you start to get an idea of just how awful it is that people just discriminate on the basis of race."

"The master of the haiku wrote this travelogue of his journey through northern Japan in the 17th century. Everywhere he went he composed a poem and connected his work to his cultural heritage, his spiritual life and, most of all, nature. A riveting meditation."