Customer Reviews

The Harper Book of Quotations 3rd Edition

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"A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket....Charles Peguy"(pg 479)....................... There are quote books and there are quote books. THIS is quote book you'll mark on every page and return to again and again. It's a feast of ideas that will become one of your favorite reference books. Forget Bartlett's. Here's a reference book you can actually use and enjoy reading at the same time. No wonder its on its third edition. I'm sorry I didn't discover it sooner.

I must admit I find quotation collections pretty irresistable, but of all the ones I know, the Harper Book of Quotations is the best. Absolutely chock-full of the most wonderful things, excellently organized. Don't dare to pick it up if you are in a hurry, because I promise you will browse in its pages happily for a long time. I like to open it at random and just start reading, as I never know what gems I will discover.

An absolutely essential book.

...One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket." (Charles Peguy, p 479) What a wonderful reference! I have found this book useful for speeches, papers, special occasions, toasts, etc. Organized topically, this book is amazingly easy to use and is filled with great quotes from a wide variety of sources (the Bible, various ethnic proverbs, presidents and other political figures, a range of artists and writers and various entertainers). A great book for anyone who ever speaks or writes in any capacity.

This is a great book! I found it my school library and I go in on break just to read through a few pages.

I have found this book handy when looking for quotes to insert in my writting.
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If you are considering this book as a resource to search for quotations on a given subject, leave that fantasy behind. Quotation books are often subjective in how they are organized and this one is no exception. However, this book of quotes will leave you wondering "What were the editors thinking!" The organiztion and inclusion of many quotes are questionable at best. Examples could be found on the heading Laziness:

'He has a head that is for rent unfurnnished,' anon. Is this laziness or an example of the elevator that does not go to the top floor, a basket two sandwiches shy of a picnic, or essentially an empty headed person?

'The lazy man gets round the sun as quickly as the busy one, Wombat, and 'The lazy are always wanting to do something,' Vauvenargues. While these quotes could have use for a reference to laziness, they beg for the punchline that brings home the concept of laziness. They could also be useful under a different catagorization.

This is a terrific book, right on the mark for what it is suppose to do and it's reasonably priced. I plan on using this book for a long time.