The only book by a modern president that bears serious comparison with Obama's 'Dreams From My Father' is Jimmy Carter's short campaign autobiography 'Why Not the Best? ' published in 1975.

'Dreams From My Father' reveals more about Obama than is usually known about political leaders until after they're dead. Perhaps more than it intends it shows his mind working in real time sentence by sentence in what feels like a private audience with the reader.

The hoary joke in the literary world based on 'Dreams From My Father ' was that if things had worked out differently for Barack Obama he could have made it as a writer.

Not only the priceless heritage of our fathers of our seamen of our Empire builders is being thrown away in a war that serves no British interests - but our alliance leader Stalin dreams of nothing but the destruction of that heritage of our fathers?

I part of this great nation because my grandfather was born here in Cincinnati Ohio. He took a horse back in 1895 and ride it all the way down to Guanajuato looking for his American dream. No penny in his pocket only dreams in his head. And he was an immigrant coming from the States into Mexico. And he found his American dream in Mexico.

My mother gave me my drive but my father gave me my dreams.

My father his spirit is with me constantly and I'm a believer in that world and the world of dreams and that stuff.

I've said it before but it's absolutely true: My mother gave me my drive but my father gave me my dreams. Thanks to him I could see a future.

It's funny though speaking of fathers and sons because me and John Goodman played father and son like five or six years ago in the film 'Death Sentence ' and I got back with him again in 'Inside Llewyn Davis.'

My father I liked but it was only after his death that I got to know him by writing the play.

My father was against the death penalty and that was hard in the Son of Sam summer when fear was driving the desire for the death penalty.

So for twelve miles I rode with Sherman and we became fast friends. He asked me all manner of questions on the way and I found that he knew my father well and remembered his tragic death in Salt Creek Valley.

If efforts to do social work are couched in selfish motives then they will die a premature death. Why would my efforts get politicised? I have values I inherited from my father. He helped many. Anyone even a postman knocking on our door would get a glass of water and some sweets.

My life comes down to three moments: the death of my father meeting my husband and the birth of my daughter. Everything I did previous to that just doesn't seem to add up to very much.

My father's death my move and my frightening and difficult delivery created a tremendous amount of stress pain and sadness for me. I was practically devastated beyond recovery.

Those who have never had a father can at any rate never know the sweets of losing one. To most men the death of his father is a new lease of life.

My father was a man of love. He always loved me to death. He worked hard in the fields but my father never hit me. Never. I don't ever remember a really cross unkind word from my father.

Years later I would hear my father say the divorce had left him dating his children. That still meant picking us up every Sunday for a matinee and if he had the money an early dinner somewhere.

You know I had my mother and my father convincing me that he would be going back to Hollywood and he'd be back with the actresses and dating them and that he wasn't serious about me at all. So I had him saying one thing to me and my parents telling me something else.

I'm quite sensitive to women. I saw how my sister got treated by boyfriends. I read this thing that said when you are in a relationship with a woman imagine how you would feel if you were her father. That's been my approach for the most part.

My sensei was a British karate champion named Brian Fitkin. He was my mentor and because I had a hard relationship with my dad he became a father figure to me.

My dad recently reminded me that my grandfather's cousin was Lefty Frizzell.

One of the accidental joys of my writing life has been that I've had some lovely surprisingly good fortune with readers and I've brought readers to my dad's work. I can't tell you the joy that gives me. Because my father's work was masterful.

I think people like to think I'm in some way financially dependent on my family - on my dad - but the fact of the matter is I've been emancipated from my father since I was 14 years old. That's something people don't know or understand.