Michael Dirda

"Science fiction is, after all, the art of extrapolation."

"Fiction is, the art of making up something. That's what it's all about, folks. Making stacks of money."

"Off and on during my life, I have passed sleepless nights in making up lists of the dozen or so books a person might choose to take along if suddenly marooned on a desert island. This is a relatively easy game for serious readers: At least half the titles would be recognized classics — the Bible, Plato, Shakespeare, a good dictionary, that sort of thing. But occasionally I have made the challenge a little more difficult: "What if you could take just one book?""