The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations [Hardcover]

Robert Andrews (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1993

Entertaining and easy to use, The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations brings together more than 18,000 fresh and intriguing remarks, witticisms, judgments, and observations on 1,500 alphabetically arranged subjects. More than 11,000 of these quotations have never before appeared in a quotation book. Full of the world's most apt sentences and less familiar quotations from Shakespeare to Malcolm X, from Lenin to Salman Rushdie, from Emily Dickinson to Camille Paglia, here is the best new large quotation book in decades -- and the liveliest one available.

These funny, profound, touching, provocative, and memorable quotations, chosen not for their familiarity but for their quality and their relevance, cover subjects from adolescence and adoption to yuppies and zoos. Each quotation has a detailed, accurate citation. Read:

* Henry Kissinger and Desmond Tutu on leadership;

* John F. Kennedy and Alexander Solzhenitsyn on the press;

* Tallulah Bankhead and Andrea Dworkin on sex;

*Marlon Brando and Paul Gauguin on obesity;

* Emerson, Wilde, and Twain on just about anything.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This expanded version of The Concise Co lumbia Dictionary of Quotations (1989) corrects some of the latter's deficiencies. Claiming 11,000 quotes not found in similar sources, the Dictionary offers 18,000 quotes arranged alphabetically by speaker under 1500 well-selected topics. Brief citations to original sources are noted, and See references guide one to related quotes under other topics. For those who feel most comfortable quoting contemporaries, this sourcebook supplies an ample serving. There's a Woody Allen snippet on sex; Nora Ephron's observation on controversy; and Donald Trump's position on self-promotion. However, those who savor tried-and-true quotations from sages of the past will not be disappointed. An index of sources (not seen) is included but no keyword index. This should prove a popular general quotation sourcebook for academic, public, and school libraries.
- Stanley P. Hodge, Ball State Univ. Lib., Muncie, Ind.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The ability to search The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations by subject and gender makes it unique.

(Booklist )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1090 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231071949
• ISBN-13: 978-0231071949
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,407,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A witty, wise, entertaining and amusing collection., July 2, 2001

By 

tepi "tepi" - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations (Hardcover)

THE COLUMBIA DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS. By Robert Andrews. 1092 pp. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. ISBN: 0231071949 (hbk.)

This is a marvelous book that one can spend many happy hours with. It contains over 18,000 remarks, witticisms, judgments and observations on 1,500 alphabetically arranged subjects. Some people like to keep such books around for when they need a quotation for a specific purpose, writers and speakers for example. But a far better use for this one is to have it handy for occasional browsing. More than 11,000 of its quotations have never appeared before in a quotation book, and all have been chosen not for their familiarity but for their quality and relevance to the times. They range from the funny and memorable through to the profound, and Andrews has made such an excellent choice that one's greatest wish while reading this book is for a photographic memory. Passages will be found here from Shakespeare and Malcolm X, Lenin and Salman Rushdie, Emily Dickinson and Camille Paglia, Oscar Wilde and Frank Zappa, and a host of others. It's the perfect book for a certain kind of moment, and there's enough here to keep anyone intrigued and entertained for a very long time.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful reference book that searches the souls of many., April 8, 1999

By 

Andrea Mucelli, [e-mail] (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations (Hardcover)

I throughly enjoy this book on a daily basis. It has extreme quotations from a wide variety of interesting and exciting people from the past and present.

I have learned that even though you might not agree with what everyone says, that people are entitled to their opinion, and that is why we as a people are so lucky to have freedom.

I highly recommend this book to people of all ages. It will keep you entertained and it is a wonderful way to get to know yourself in the process.