Customer Reviews

1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read and reread this book of quotations by mostly modern wits. It's like hearing the best lines from stand-up comics. I read it aloud to my wife and we both laugh. Lots of irreverent and screwball takes on nearly any subject you can think of. The book makes a great gift.

Robert Byrne's collection of the "Best Things Anybody Ever Said" does not disappoint. It is a brilliant mix of politics, social commentary, absurd metaphor and timeless truisms that delight, enlighten and keep the reader laughing out loud. This three-part volume of one-liners, crammed with wisdom of the ages, will never collect dust. It's likely to move from room to room, never finding its way to the book shelf. "Best Things" should be required reading for all students of comedy and other members of the human race. Indexed by author, subject and key words, it is both an indispensable reference for all occasions and a wonderful escape for anyone who enjoys laughing again, again and again.

This book is an outstanding collection of thoughts, sayings, and quotations. The collection is very well organized as well as pertinent to life today. This book as a whole is one of the best collection of Quotes i have ever seen. Even though it lacks large numbers of quotes like other books the content is far above the rest!

Surely these quotes aren't the best things people said. Many are so demeaning to women and take the base, low-road. I wanted something helpful and uplifting and did not get it. Dear Abby really liked this book?

Apparently this quote from Barry Commmoner was correct. Where on earth did Byrne find some of this stuff?

There are dozens of well-known compilations of quotations, and hundreds of lesser known ones. This book tends more toward the humorous or cynical side than the more serious collections such as Bartlett's or the Penguin Dictionary of Quotations. And though those two volumes belong on any professional writer's collection, it's a toss up whether you need these 1,911 quotes, especially given how mean-spirited many of these quotes are.

For instance, we have Bhagwhan Shree Rajneesh noting, "Jesus was a crackpot." Or Leo Tolstoy opining "Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal," a quote the author was so fond of that he included it on at least four different pages. Of course, there are those moments when material of this ilk fits the bill.

One big strike is that the book is not that easy to use. You have to rely on the indices to find quotes by either the person's name or by topic. Then, the topics sometimes do not seem, in my estimation, to match the quotes. The author also saw fit to cram a bunch of his own quotes throughout the text. Oddly, he didn't bother checking with you or me to see what wit we might have dispensed.

If you run across this book used, find one in the remainders section, or see a discarded copy on a city bus, you may wish to snare it. Otherwise, you can do just as well with some of the Web sites that provide quotes. (Incidentally, I think 2 and a half stars might be a more accurate rating.)

I was disappointed that I had never heard of 50% of the people that are quoted in this book. I was expecting more exciting and funny quotes from famous people from all areas. What happened to great quotes from presidents, rock stars, movie stars, and scientists? There are so many people who said great things that are left out of this book. There has to be a better book of quotes out there!

Would rate another star if it weren't for the author placing his own 100-or-so quotable quotes in the midst of the truly classic zingers.