Well, I was always a bit of a political junkie. Even as a kid I would read biographies of presidents and of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I was 15 years old and in the tenth grade, I heard of Martin Luther King, Jr. Three years later, when I was 18, I met Dr. King and we became friends. Two years after that I became very involved in the civil rights movement. I was in college at that time. As I got more and more involved, I saw politics as a means of bringing about change.
I'm not really a political satirist. I don't kid myself. I'm more interested in doing the mannerisms and the personality.
I've always had sort of an interest in American history, full stop, and especially people who contributed to the civil rights struggle.
I have very positive memories of reading biographies of unusual Americans as a child.
The heroes of my childhood were Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy... but I was inspired by the ideals of our 40th president and became a Republican.
I've always enjoyed reading history, particularly presidential biographies.
I was a political journalist; I came to writing novels through an interest in politics and power.
I've always had an abundance of material about the subjects of my biographies.
My father loved biographies. He loved the true tales of interesting people that were shaping our culture. I get why he dug 'Vanity Fair.' You feel smarter, somehow, for reading it.
I wouldn't say I'm a political junkie. I follow it. I read a few articles every day.