Customer Reviews

The Big Curmudgeon: 2,500 Outrageously Irreverent Quotations from World-Class Grumps and Cantankerous Commentators

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, I'm a big fan of Jon Winokur and strongly recommend any of his compilations, especially the Curmudgeon series, Writers on Writing, and Zen To Go. I've referred to few books as often as I have my old copies of The Portable Curmudgeon and The Portable Curmudgeon Redux. They are among few books that will eternally have a place on my office shelves and serve as a refreshing, if temporary, antidote against an increasingly absurd world. This newer consolidated version, with new quotes added, is definitely worth having---the content being as relevant, reaffirming, and hilarious as before.

So why not five stars? Unfortunately, the publishers of The Big Curmudgeon, Black Dog and Leventhal, simply didn't do this book service. They used the cheapest materials and binding possible and the print quality is mediocre at best when you compare this version to the original issues (which were done by different publishers). Even the previous softcovers were leagues above this one, using quality linen over this hasty stack of cheap foolscap, with its peeling cover and fuzzy ink. Where is a hardbound version?

The card-carrying cynics of the world that cherish the content this practical bible deserve better, and so does Jon Winokur. Let's hope the next edition receives the respect it deserves.

This book is terrific. I've never in my life read a book of quotations cover to cover but I read this one cover to cover. It's a joy to read, by and large, a much better book than the earlier one Jon Winokur wrote, and not just because it is fatter.

This book now contains portraits of and interviews with famous curmudgeons (Fran Leibowitz, fresh off the top of my list) while being loaded at the same time with more aphorisms and quotations in a nearly encyclopedic variety of topics, A through Z. The quotations, of course, are not only acerbic and funny, they contain quite a bit of philosophy and cold comfort as well. Who said, "All television is children's television"? Although Winokur's book tells you, what's wonderful really is that television is felt to have been thoroughly assaulted with this one one-liner. Alexander Dumas (pere) has an astounding comment to make on the burden of marriage, one that seems different from anything you might have expected from such a romantic author. A special interview with Quentin Crisp, author of "The Naked Civil Servant," unfolds his philosophy of love and romantic relationships such that it makes any idea like "success is only possible through good and happy relationships" the quintessential quackery that it honestly is. There is variety in both the portraits and interviews as well as in the quotations and aphorisms. Curmudgeons and misanthropes, come one, come all; you're in all sizes and shapes and tastes (apparently: another positive quality of Winokur's book), and this fat book voraciously feeds any curmudgeon's or misanthrope's appetite -- from bloggers and comedians to literary critics and ecologists, from philosphers and feminists to anyone who sees humanity as less than squeaky clean and totally without hypocrisy. There are truths here you probably won't find anywhere else.

On a more critical note, while quotations from Ambrose Bierce, Dorothy Parker, and Florence King, for instance, are absolutely wonderful, not so wonderful are the words of professional comic writers, people like P.J. O'Rourke and Dave Barry. Not only are their comments not funny or witty or deep, they are offensively dull, yawn-invoking. I also didn't like the Winokur's inclusion of certain people labeled curmudgeons but who are so only in a highly specialized sense. Geoff Shackelford, a "golf curmudgeon" (yawn) has things to say that were decidedly not worth reading, and Guy Kawasaki, a "computer curmudgeon," has words to say that are simply petty or coming from too narrow a perspective.

Once P.J. O'Rourke's two-cents are introduced around page 537, the last 120 pages of the book seem to decline in humor, wit, or philosophy -- except for the section known as "W," which includes wonderfully perspicacious perceptions on wives, women, and the world.

I bought this for a modern curmudgion friend and left it on his desk. I knew he had gotten it when I heard laughter from his cubicle. This is about the 5th one I have given to friends -- we have all enjoyed the humor and the wisdom in the sayings in this collection. I would recommend it for the curmudgions in your life.

This is cheap enough for a good supply of sarcastic and misanthropic quotes, but, like the volume it updates, it has deficiencies. Karl Kraus was a wonderful source of pungent jibes, but Winokur continues to use mediocre translations of them. Thomas Szasz, who wrote a book about Kraus and included a section with his own translations of Kraus quotes, did a much better job than the source Winokur uses. And speaking of Thomas Szasz, he is, himself, the source of scores of deliciously acerbic quotes -- many more than Kraus -- but few are included in this book. It shouldn't have been hard to find them since no fewer than three volumes of Szasz quotes have been published. Mencken deserves more space.

I was very interested on this book so I bought it. After reading it once I decided to read it again and this time put a little checkmark to the quotations that I considered above average (for their humor, incisiveness, genius, etc.) so I could determine out of the 2500 revealed how many were worth remembering. Kudos to the author that took the time for this collectible but in the end it was just a nice effort at times. I guess what I am trying to point out is that not all entries are equal and actually, the majority are just okay. By okay I mean they made no ripples in my enthusiasm for them. Some individuals like Winston Churchill, Bernard Shaw, etc., had a true bite to their words (and that is exactly what I was expecting, perhaps my mistake) while most were nothing to write home about. People like Frank Zappa, Jon Stewart, John Cleese are too contemporary to earn their place among the most distinguished ones. A lot of the personal interviews were excess baggage with few exceptions. I suppose gathering this type of quotes and putting a book together is no easy task so I do appreciate that Mr. Jon Winokur was able to accomplish this task but only to mixed reviews. Out of the 2500 I check marked no more than 100 that really caught my fancy. The book was inexpensive enough but surely not a resource to used over and over by me. The good ones were great and it did take me a few days to read it twice so I surely got my money's worth. Regretfully it did not deliver in quality only in quantity. A little on the boring side. 3 Stars for "The Big Curmudgeon".

This book is great and will provide hour of entertainment. Can't wait to give it to my husband for our 20th anniversary. He calls himself a curmudgeon and its true!

This is a good product for the money, although not great. The price is right, the presentation good. It would have been better if it skipped the description of some of the curmudgeons and stuck to just quoting them. We grumps know who the famous curmudgeons are and don't need a primer. If you're not a grump why are you buying this unless it's a gift? If you're a grump-in -training, this might be a five-star purchase so you can learn about real curmudgeons.

Have the smaller version...have read it over and over but this has alot more wonderful entries.

I saw this and thought of my brother right away. He's been getting a kick and many laughs out of it just like I knew he would.

I saw this and thought of my brother right away. He's been getting a kick and many laughs out of it just like I knew he would.