Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Time [Hardcover]

Laurence J. Peter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1977

From the author of the multimillion-selling "The Peter Principle," and "The Peter Prescription," here is a timeless collection of some of history's greatest and best-expressed thoughts. Organized alphabetically by subject -- from Ability to Zoos -- and completely cross-refernced by related categories, "Peter's Quotations" is a joy to use. Packed with many unusual and little-known quotations of great wit, Dr. Peter's reference book is not only fun to read -- an idea mine for writers, students, and public speakers -- but it is also relevant to the sometimes overwhelming problems of today. "Peter's Quotations" is priceless.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Before Dr. Laurence Peter's death in 1988, he was a professor of education at the University of Southern California and at the University of British Columbia. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 540 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1ST edition (September 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688032176
• ISBN-13: 978-0688032173
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,373,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for writers/speakers, March 25, 2002

By 

jobu_pks (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Times (Paperback)

A lot of quote books focus on the timeless and famous or the "witty" and not-so-meaningful. Peter's Quotations is a clasic among public speakers and essayists because it focusses on what these people are likely to need. It addresses broad, abstract topics such as "kindness" but also lays out the lawyer jokes. The topics are a good mix of the immortal and the current and, while often witty, are never ridiculous or campy (well, almost never campy). I've used it for years as a debater and public speaker, as a coach, and as a teacher. The best indication I can give you of its outstanding usefulness is that I buy a new copy for my speech team every year because a graduating senior always steals the old one. I'm on my third personal copy because I've worn two others out.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharp and Pointed, August 8, 2000

By 

Peter A. Greene (Franklin, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Times (Paperback)

Not a "real" quotation reference like, say, Bartlett's, but a great compendium of mostly modern quotes. The book has a sharp, sassy, punchy, pointed sensibility (which only lags, unfortunately, in Dr. Peter's own added asides which are uniformly below the standard of the rest of the book). This is a quotation book that you will read cover to cover. Organization is handy so that when you want to find that pithy bon mot that struck you the last time you read the book, you'll be able to locate it easily. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good, in specific situations, January 26, 2008

By 

Elvisettey "elvisette" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Times (Paperback)

I prefer Bartlett's for one major reason: You know where what you're looking for came from. There's plenty of good material in here, don't get me wrong, but if it's a Shakespeare quotation, I like to know *exactly* where it came from in MacBeth, so I can find it and cite it!

It does have an interesting organization-- by theme-- which is different from Bartlett's and can make flipping through it amusing. In that way, you can actually pick this up and just browse instead of reading 16 pages of lines from Paradise Lost, all together.

However, if you're looking for something practical, something you can use to give people an answer if they ask you, "Hey, that was interesting, where did it come from, exactly?," you're not going to be able to answer the "exactly" part. Just be aware of that.