Customer Reviews

Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Time

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have had this book for 9 years and it continues to be my favorite. I have several other quotation books, but I always keep coming back to this one. It covers many topics that are categorized in a user friendly format which makes searching for the perfect quote a breeze. I recommend this book for the quotation fanatic!

Well worth the price of the book - excellent collection of quotes. Wonderful source of reference. I look forward to "wearing it out" as one other reader has!!!

This book index's the quote's first by subject, then also lists the source several ways. Its a great way to start those nagging papers you have to write!

Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Times is an insightful collection of thoughts from greats like Oliver Wendell Holmes to common people with exceptional ideas. Organized logically by subject, this easy to read and use book is an valuable asset to students or anyone who speaks or writes for a living.

From the author of the multi-million 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-referenced 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 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 less. 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.

Dr. Peter has made this compilation unputdownable. From the humorous to the serious - he has it all. A must read for anyone.