“With his release imminent, Knight seems more unsettled than ever. He scratches furiously at his knees. Jail, he's realized, might not be… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“His chief form of entertainment was reading. The last moments he was in a cabin were usually spent scanning bookshelves and nightstands.… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“There was no one to complain to in the woods, so I did not complain,' Knight said.” — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“Knight, of course, felt that anyone's willing assistance tainted the whole thing. Either you are hidden or you're not, no middle ground.… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“He was confounded by the idea that passing the prime of your life in a cubicle, spending hours a day at a… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“The life inside a book always felt welcoming to Knight. It pressed no demands on him, while the world of human interactions… — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
“The only book Knight didn't steal was the one he most often saw. 'I had no need for a Bible,' he said.” — Michael Finkel Copy Share Image
I never do formal interviews. I don't use a tape recorder. I take notes but occasionally. — Michael Finkel Copy Share
“He has seen the bottomless nonsense of our world and has decided, like most of us, to simply try to tolerate it. He appears… — Michael Finkel Copy Share
America might be the land of second chances, but it ain't the land of third chances. — Michael Finkel Copy Share
“The American essayist William Deresiewicz wrote that “no real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude.” — Michael Finkel Copy Share
“The first great literary work about solitude, the Tao Te Ching, was written in ancient China, likely in the sixth century B.C., by a… — Michael Finkel Copy Share
There have always been hermits: people who want to get away from other humans. Literally, some of the first extant books and poems found… — Michael Finkel Copy Share
I think many people have this sense that something about modern society - the screens, the noise, the traffic, the constant busyness - has… — Michael Finkel Copy Share
I'd lied many times: to bolster my credentials, to elicit sympathy, to make myself appear less ordinary. — Michael Finkel Copy Share
“He never bothered listening to sports; the bored him, every one of them.” — Michael Finkel Copy Share
“Japanese researchers at Chiba University found that a daily fifteen-minute walk in the woods caused significant decreases in cortisol, along with a modest drop… — Michael Finkel Copy Share
My fight-or-flight mechanism... had served me well in Gaza, in Afghanistan, and all the places I'd been. — Michael Finkel Copy Share
