From the compiler of
The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations comes this collection of 18,000 quotations. They are arranged by fairly narrow subject headings (
Love;
Love, Ended;
Love, First;
Lovers), so generally there are not long lists of quotations under a subject. Within each heading, entries are arranged alphabetically by the name of the person being quoted rather than chronologically. Birth and death dates and a descriptive tag identify each author, and a citation to a printed source is given for all quotations. There is an index of personal names but no keyword or subject index.
Columbia is about the same size as The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations and a little smaller than Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Oxford is arranged alphabetically by author with a keyword index, Bartlett's chronologically by author with keyword and author indexes. The compiler of Columbia claims that 11,000 of these quotations have never appeared in a quotation book before. This would appear to be the case: about half the sources cited are not found in Bartlett's or Oxford. For example, quotations from Marlon Brando, Paul Gauguin, Desmond Tutu, Camille Paglia, and Maya Angelou are found only in Columbia. Even when a source is found in all three books, there is often a different selection of quotations. For example, there are six quotations from American novelist Nelson Algren in Columbia; one of them is found in both Bartlett's and Oxford, the others are unique. Columbia quotes more late-twentieth-century sources than either of those two books, for example, hostage Terry Anderson, Eric Ambler, Shana Alexander, Donald Trump, and Ross Perot.
Because it lacks a keyword index, Columbia won't be the first place to look to try to identify a specific quotation. But if Bartlett's or Oxford or Stevenson's Home Book of Quotations don't turn up a source for a quotation, Columbia is the next place to try, especially for contemporary quotations with obvious subjects. Its topical arrangement will make it useful for those looking for something to quote, too Sandy Whiteley
Review
The wittiest, most whimsical, and yet readable book of quotations you will find...Buy it, browse and enjoy! Very highly recommended.
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SSC Booknews )
