"Without much hope [the editor] had searched the faces of the assembled staffers: the paunchy columnists, the cadaverous critics, Qwilleran on general assignment, and the specialist who handled travel, hobbies, aviation, real estate, and gardening" (pg. 6.)

"He had done Skid Row assignments in the past, and he know how to proceed: quit shaving-pick up some ratty clothes-get to know the people in the dives and on the street-and then listen" (pg. 7.)

"The newsman was convinced that Junktown was something less than real. This was the enchanted palace in the depths of the dark forest" (pg. 14.)

"Qwilleran...had a talent for sincerity that had drawn confidences from the most reticent persons" (pg. 34.)

"'You're just like everyone else! You think an old neighborhood that's run down is a hotbed of crime. It's not true! We don't have any trouble'" (pg. 43.)

"Between paragraphs...a pair of piercing eyes kept boring into...