From Library Journal
Ratcliffe (Oxford Dictionary of Thematic Questions) offers some 4000 quotations by famous folks about other famous folks, living and dead, throughout history and throughout the world. Subjects from all walks of life including the arts, the sciences, sports, and politics are identified by dates and accomplishments; the author index provides the same information on sources, along with a list of citations. Quotations per subject vary from just one (often by the subject him- or herself) to two pages each on Churchill and Shakespeare. Some subjects get shortchanged (for example, there's only one quotation each for Pope John XXIII and Johann Strauss), and there are notable omissions, such as Irish playwrights Sean O'Casey and John Millington Synge, American writers Washington Irving and Eugene O'Neill, and all the Deweys. This work is similar to Richard Kenin and Justin Wintle's Dictionary of Biographical Quotation of British and American Subjects (LJ 12/1/78), but since the earlier work is limited to deceased Britons and Americans, public libraries might wish to purchase this new volume. Denise J. Stankovics, Rockville P.L., Vernon, CT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"People on People is that rare kind of reference book--one that invites casual browsing as well as serious searching."--Booklist
