Very sad. I loved his take on history - the Narratives of Empire books, of course (Burr is one of my all-time favourite novels - so cheeky!) - but also Julian and Creation.

I was actually just going through some old New York Times Magazines the other day and found a "Questions For" with him that was wonderfully outrageous. Final exchange - "Well, it was a great pleasure talking to you." "I doubt that."