Customer Reviews

637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said

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As a book of quotes, it serves its purpose. I'd suggest this to anyone looking for more than just a book of things to write on your roommate's dry-erase board when they're down or throw into a scathing letter to an ex-girlfriend, but, rather, someone who is curious as to one man's idea of the 637 best things anyone ever said. Robert Byrne almost becomes a character, defined by everything in here. Of course, that's not really the point of this at all, and it's a very minor subtext. What isn't, though, is the question that arises from that: what would your list look like?

It was fun reading this straight through in about an hour, and I even used one to cheer up a friend (it does work for that, I told you!) when she was having a bit of a moment. This isn't a turn-and-flip sectioned off book of quotes. On the other hand, it's not exactly groundbreaking, either. I mean, hell, it's a book of quotes. I like to read stuff like this only with myself in mind. Who cares about Robert Byrne or you? I care about me.

Go ahead and finish this one. It's quick and you'll chuckle. Be forewarned, though: you'll get burned out on witty one-liners and wordplay somewhere around 450.

Still, this was a nice little collection, and a good alternative to the comprehensive list of everything anyone ever said. Though this was made before the internet, it definitely turned out to be a good format considering the ease and number of quotes available online in the "other" format.

But enough rambling. I've got too many sad roommates' dry-erase boards and ex-girlfriends to keep writing this.

I thoroughly enjoy this book. I have since acquired volumes 2, 3, and 4 and am going to pick up 5 when I'm able. I have also given "The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said" (a compendium of volumes 1 though 4) as gifts to a number of people, including my pastor and some of my childrens' teachers.

Many of the quotes require a deep wit, and often the quotes that are the best are completely lame until one understands the context (for example, Amy Carter's quote of "No", which was given when she was asked if she had a message for America's youth.) Robert Byrne also will string quotes together to make "virtual conversations" between historical figures (such as Plato and Hemmingway).

An awesome companion to this is "Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words" (by Josefa Heifitz Byrne, I believe) which shares a similar style of insightful humor, but is applied to a dictionary of words one would be hard-pressed to fit into any conversation.

Of course, the title tells one that this book is not long on quantity, but implies that it's very high on quality. Not true IMHO. I found only 2 or 3 really good ones and a few marginal ones. The best included:
#322: I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. Bill Cosby
#498: Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf. Lewis Mumford