They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions

by Paul F. Boller (Author), John George (Author)

20 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0195064698

ISBN-10: 0195064690

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Abraham Lincoln never said, "You cannot fool all the people all the time." Thomas Jefferson never said, "That government is best which governs least." And Horace Greeley never said, "Go west, young man." In They Never Said It, Paul F. Boller, Jr. and John George examine hundreds of misquotations, incorrect attributions, and blatant fabrications, outlining the origins of the quotes and revealing why we should consign them to the historical trashcan.
Many of the misquotes are quite harmless. Some are inadvertent misquotes that have become popular (Shakespeare actually said, "The best part of valor is discretion"), others, the inventions of reporters embellishing a story (Franklin Roosevelt never opened a speech to a DAR group with the salutation, "My fellow immigrants"). But some of the quotes, such as Charles Darwin's supposed deathbed recantation of evolution, falsify the historical record with their blatant dishonesty. And other chillingly vicious ones, filled with virulent racial and religious prejudices, completely distort the views of the person supposedly quoted and spread distrust and hatred among the gullible. These include the forged remarks attributed to Benjamin Franklin that Jews should be excluded from America and the fabricated condemnation of Catholics attributed to Lincoln.
An entertaining and thought-provoking book, They Never Said It covers a great deal of history and sets it right. Going beyond a mere catalog of popular misconceptions, Boller and George reveal how rightists and leftists, and atheists and evangelists all have at times twisted and even invented the words of eminent figures to promote their own ends. The ultimate debunking reference, it perfectly complements handbooks of quotations.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[H]ighly amusing romp through the history of spurious quote-mongering...Boller and George not only perform a valuable scholarly service, they also give us a first-rate detective story."--George E. Hopkins, International Social Science Review

"This book full of spurious quotes and deliberate misattributions has a lesson for anyone who has ever nodded admiringly at a well-turned quotation that makes a partisan point with stunning effect. The lesson is to be wary of just such marvelous distillations of political wisdom. They're probably fakes...This is...a serious book, written with high good humor and solid research."--The Washington Times

"An infectiously browsable book."--Booklist

"One of the most pleasant surprises of the year...Not only informative but great fun."--The Newark Star-Ledger

"A mother lode for writers, journalists, teachers, and others who depend on classic quotes to make their point...Not only painstakingly accurate but a joy to read."--The Oklahoma Observer

"Fascinating reading. The authors have done their research well. This book is a must for political writers who want to avoid an embarrassing predicament, and it makes a great book for browsers."--The Kansas City Star

"Entertaining"--The Plain Dealer

About the Author

Paul F. Boller, Jr. is Professor of History Emeritus at Texas Christian University. His many books include the bestselling Presidential Anecdotes, Presidential Campaigns, and Presidential Wives.

John George is Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Central State University in Oklahoma. He is the author of Public Opinion: Coalitions, Elites and Masses (with Harry Holloway).

Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (June 14, 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195064690
ISBN-13: 978-0195064698
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.4 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 20 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #408 in Books > Reference > Quotations
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- #547 in Books > Reference > Encyclopedias & Subject Guides > Antiques & Collectibles

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Frank Langben

Good book, could have been better

February 9, 2014

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It's a good book, exploring our tendency to mis-attribute quotes, sometimes innocently, sometimes intentionally advancing our favorite belief or quirk by attributing it to Twain or Lincoln. Once attributed, the misattribution speads like wildfire, especially since we now have the internet. Sometimes Boller exactingly finds the real origin of a mis-attributed quote, such as Horace Greely's "Go West, young man." It is a difficult task often to prove that someone DIDN'T say something, when they might have said it in a forgotten and lost letter, or said it in private conversation. In places the book drags, and sometimes Boller concludes "he didn't say it" merely from a lack of proof that someone DID say it, which of course is not proof that someone did NOT say it.

3 people found this helpful

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Honey Mom

Quotes and Misquotes

December 9, 2013

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I am always fascinated with quotes that are misused, or not even attributed to the person who said (or didn't say) it!
This is one of those. My favorite book title: I LOVE PAUL REVERE WHETHER HE RODE OR NOT!

4 people found this helpful

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Jens Guld

Good book for American fact checkers

December 23, 2012

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Lots of quotes were never said by the people claimed to be the sayers.

This book fact checks many spurious quotes, but unfornateny mostly American quotes.
For Americans this is a five star book, but for us Europeans three stars at most.

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ozarkdoc

quite factual too bad there are legions of fictitious quotes they couldn't get ...

August 13, 2016

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quite factual too bad there are legions of fictitious quotes they couldn't get into the book

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Kevin M. Donohue

They Never Said It (maybe?)

February 28, 2013

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When I bought this, I thought it was going to be a humorous
collection of mis-quotes like Yogi Berra's book "I never
said half the things I said". Instead, I found it a very
well-documented albeit dry collection of famous atributions.
For example, one of my favorite warnings has always been:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good
men do nothing" by John Locke. Well, he never said it! The
Authors of this book found a long paragraph in which Locke
voices the sentiment and, apparently, some clever Editor
condensed it to the oft-quoted line. I would recommend this
item to those who wish to be educated rather than amused.

8 people found this helpful

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Entertaining and valuable

May 13, 2009

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Popular culture is packed with events and quotations that everyone is familiar with-- but which are fictional. This book is a collection of quotations that weren't actually said by the people they are attributed to.

The book is interesting, mostly because of the way that the authors tell the stories of how the quotations came to be accepted as real. Sometimes, the reasons are as simple as misunderstandings, poor transcriptions of speeches, and the like. Sometimes, the reasons are less innocent.

A significant number of the false quotations in this book are simply inventions of people with political or religious axes to grind. For example, Lenin never said that "The first step in overthrowing a government is to establish a firearms registration law," even though many gun rights organizations regularly use that quotation to "prove" that gun control is a commie plot. Similarly, Darwin didn't make his often-quoted deathbed retraction of the Theory of Evolution; rather, a variety of religious conservatives have put those words into his mouth, in an effort to somehow "prove" that the theory is false.

It's valuable to have these spurious quotations corrected. Today, in part due to the Internet, misinformation can spread literally at the speed of light. The only way to combat this misinformation is with the truth, and this book is an important source for that truth.

This is a valuable, entertaining book, and I recommend it highly.

6 people found this helpful

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Gym Rat 71

They really didn't say it

January 17, 2013

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It's amazing what is said compared to what we hear. And read. There are lots of quotes that you hear often included in this book

2 people found this helpful

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drygulches

It's Okay

September 12, 2012

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I was hoping for a book from which I could draw a series of stories, and this has that. But it has approximately one misquote per famous person. There are many websites which have more information.

3 people found this helpful

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