Simpson's Contemporary Quotations Revised Edition: Most Notable Quotes From 1950 to the Present, The [Hardcover]

James B. Simpson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0062701371 | ISBN-13: 978-0062701374 | Publication Date: March 6, 1997 | Edition: Rev Sub

Completely revised and expanded, the new edition of this extremely entertaining, one-of-a-kind collection of the best quotations from the past 50 years contains twice as many quotes as the previous edition (which sold 35,000 hardcover copies).

With more than 20,000 quotes from the famous, the infamous, the renowned and the obscure, "Simpson's Contemporary Quotations" is a treasury of the most memorable, important and funniest comments uttered between 1950 and today. In order to make finding these quotes as easy as possible, the book is first divided into three parts: The World, Humankind and Communications and The Arts. Each of these three parts is then divided into 60 subsections, within which the quotes are organized alphabetically. The book also features two indexes, one by source and one by subject and key line."A ring-a-ding, wildly exciting entry that belongs between your Bartlett's and your Mencken's."--William SafireA

"Contains more than enough truly quotable material to earn an honored place on the reference shelf." "--Chicago Sun-Times"

"What a gold mine!"--Bill MoyersA

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This collection of some 10,000 quotes from 3900 people, 1950-1987, proves that modern men and women are smart, witty, and pithy, and stack up pretty well against the talkers of the past as recorded by Bartlett. We have lived through tough times; perhaps all times are tough, and if so, this collection is a contemporary comment on eternal topics. Our times have been unique, too, and this is as readable a history of themoral history, so to speakas one is likely to find. Subject arrangement with subject, author, and key-word index; sources listed. Highly recommended for reference and browsing collections.William A. Wortman, Miami Univ. Lib., Oxford, Ohio
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"A ring-a-ding, wildly exciting entry that belongs between your Bartlett's and your Mencken's." -- --William SafireA

"Contains more than enough truly quotable material to earn an honored place on the reference shelf." -- --Chicago Sun-Times

"What a gold mine!" -- --Bill MoyersA

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; Rev Sub edition (March 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062701371
• ISBN-13: 978-0062701374
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.9 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,346,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wise, Witty & Wonderful, May 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Simpson's Contemporary Quotations Revised Edition: Most Notable Quotes From 1950 to the Present, The (Hardcover)

Most books of quotations tend to emphasize the classics, so it is nice to see one concentrate on the wise, witty, wonderful, and just plain odd things being said today. It contains "approximately 11,300 quotations with special emphasis on the years since 1988", by well-known and lesser known people. It is the sort of book you can open for a moment, and close an hour later. I found it fascinating.

The book is divided into three overarching categories: the World, Humankind, and Communication and the Arts. These are further broken down into more specific categories, such as Law, Education, Family Life, Humor, Art, Films, and Literature--and many others. Most of these are then further broken down. For instance, Literature consists of Writers and Editors, Poets, and Critics.

Some of the authors represented are Bill Clinton, Prince Charles, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Frost, John D. Rockefeller, Grace Hopper, Warren Bennis, and many, many others. As you can see, they are an eclectic bunch.

The quotes themselves may be interesting in their own right, or appropriate to a particular occasion, or the original words of something that has moved into our modern ways of thought. Like any book of quotations, the reader always wonders why some things were included, and others left out, but that is part of the fun of reading quote books.

There are three extensive indexes: Source (i.e. Author), Subjects, and Keyword. Attributions are always given for each quote.

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutly Fantastic Book!!!, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Simpson's Contemporary Quotations Revised Edition: Most Notable Quotes From 1950 to the Present, The (Hardcover)

This book has many, if not all of the most famous quotes of today. The book is very well organized and meticulous in its details. Fr. Simpson has obvously spent many long hours organizing and researching. The final product is really fantastic!! You must buy this book!

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An Awful Book, May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Simpson's Contemporary Quotations Revised Edition: Most Notable Quotes From 1950 to the Present, The (Hardcover)

I have allowed this book at least twenty chances, but each time I find only dribble and white bread. Simpson's is useless. Rather than allow it to continue to take up my precious shelf space, I'm donating mine to the Friends of the Library sale