Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

This big book is a must have for quotation fans. Why in the age of Google and an internet flooded with quotations sites would we need a big heavy book of quotations? One word: serendipity. With this great book, you can page through and randomly find amazing quotations. Or you can read the book in order, which is chronological. What a way to discover great thinkers, writers and statesmen! I love to randomly open a page and just see what interesting quote I can find. Of course the other reason to buy this book is: organization. It is well indexed by key word and also organized by whom is quoted, in chronological order. What a fantastic desk-top resource this is.

A comprehensive compilation of famous quotes although some were left out (O'Brien's room 101 statement in Orwell's "1984", for example, "You asked me once," said O'Brien, 'what was in Room 101'. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it.The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world".). It's easy to use; you can find quotes by author's name or by the key words. Some of the quotes that Geoffrey O'Brien (General Editor) selected were obviously chosen for the political ideology of the speaker, not for the erudite wisdom the words express. Obama and Sotomayor (and her racist "wise Latina" comment) are two examples of far left ideology while Justice Clarence Thomas' only quote is from his confirmation hearing and nothing from his Supreme Court opinions. Thomas Jefferson's "swinish multitudes" and the "rogues" who "nestle themselves into places of power and profit" (Letter to Mann Page, 1795) and "elective despotism" are examples that should be included. Still and all, it's a valuable book, well worth the price and very informative.

It is a large hardcover book. The paperback version would have been more portable. It was given to my college- age grandson as a gift. He loves to read and seemed to really like it. Others have said that it was "a very interesting gift"!

A lot of radical quotes for sure. My objection is the list of authors at the beginning. Cannot skim through them to find my favorite quotes. Try “Vegetius”. Maybe I have not figured it out yet but I have the 15th Edition in book form. It is far more superior than this one. The more I read this Kindle 18th Edition the more boorish it seems.

One of my childhood memories is the copy of Barlett's on my parents' desk. I would spend hours browsing the familiar quotes, ilespecially those made by famous, familar people. Although I purchased this for my college age grandchild, I found myself again browsing its pages. Some of the quotations were the ones of old, but as I read so many that have been added since the one I loved as a child, I became nostalgic.I would read a quotation and memories would coming flooding back. I would think of what was going on in my life at the time, the state of the world when the quote was made. Many quotes made me sad because I know what the future held for the speaker. Others made me smile. Most made me grateful for the life I have lived through these recent historic decades. Bartlett's not merely a list of memorial quotes, but a commentary of our culture and times.

Fantastic book. You can open it up to a random page and be transported to a completely different world and time. You'll keep doing this over and over again, and fortunately it doesn't appear to induce motion sickness. You can also place this volume on the ground and stand on it to see over a crowd. Depending on your height, your mileage may vary. Very happy with this purchase.

WARNING: The index is not included with the Kindle edition! I have multiple print editions of the book and make heavy use of the index to find the right quote for my needs. The Kindle edition is searchable - which is quite nice - but not it is not the same as having an index. Print edition has 1504 pages and the Kindle edition has 907 pages. It is still a very important reference book on my bookshelf and the Kindle edition will serve its purpose.

I like the ease of navigation and pinpoint the subject of interest. The eighteenth edition provides the readers with an expanded reference (new voices) and international coverage. This book was used for a communication class for generating speech outlines. It is a must-read!

「引用句」を「テーマ別 (by subject) に分類」するのは「引用辞典（例えば、Peter, L.J., (1977). Peter’s Quotations. / Fitzhenry, R.L. Frank, L.R., (1999). Random House Webster’s Quotationary. / (2005). The Harper Book of Quotations. / Ratcliffe, S. (2010). Oxford Dictionary of Quotations by Subject. など）」の定石だが、本書では全ての引用句が、「その掲載書名と創作者とされる人名によって分類」されている。 例えば、pp. 3 – 50 には「掲載書名によって分類された引用句」（The Song of the Harper（古代エジプトの碑文）から The Upnishads（サンスクリットの聖典）まで）が紹介されているが、特に The Holy Bible（聖書）からの引用は The Old Testamentからが pp. 5 – 31、The New Testament からが pp. 31 – 50 までにも及び、圧倒される量だ。 「人名による分類」は pp. 50 – 880 に生存年あるいは誕生年順に掲載され、誰もが知っている Homer に始まり米シンガーソングライター・俳優・企業経営者の Justin Timberlake の謝罪に終わる。それ以外にもthe Dalai Lama、Bill Gates、Emily Post、Steve Jobs、Jimi Hendrix、Bruce Springsteen、John Lennon & Sir Paul McCartney、Elizabeth Kubler-Ross、Stanley Kubrick、Barack Obama、Che Guevara、John F. Kennedy などの「有名人」からの引用句も満載だ。 因みにJustin Timberlake 謝罪は 2004年2月2日スーパーボウルのハーフタイムショウの中でデュエットをしていた Janet Jacksonの左胸を露わにさせたことに関するもの。彼の言い分は、次のように引用されている： I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl. It was not intentional and is regrettable. : Apologizing for brief exposure of Janet Jackson’s breast [February 2, 2004] Janet の左胸を覆っている衣装の一部をJustinが意図的に剥ぎ取ったのは当時の VTR 等からも明らかだが、それを”wardrobe malfunction”（衣装の機能不全）のためであり、”not intentional and is regrettable”（意図的なものではなく、衣装の縫製に落ち度があったのが残念だ）と言い張っているのには、笑ってしまう（勿論、Justin の「謝罪」は tongue in cheekでの物言いだったのだろうが…）。 この後には各国からの Anonymous が pp. 880 – 899まで続き、 最後に INDEX が pp. 903 – 1438 に亘り「引用句内のキーワード」をまとめている。INDEX OF AUTHORS も本書の xv～ lxi にまとめてあり、INDEX だけでも本体全1438 ページの約 3分の1 を占める。20×5.4×26 cm の大部な辞書で持ち歩きには不便だが、自宅でじっくりと読むには重宝する「楽しい引用句集」である。

Previous reviews laud the publication on its sources and variety. It is an impressive volume. It is very American with notable exception like Churchill, Ghandi, etc. World figures that you would expect quotes from and that likely you have heard. The newer quotes can leave you scratching your head. "Here it is... your moment of Zen." - Jon Stewart. ??? It would be great to know the criteria for the quote being included - especially the modern ones. But the depth is unmistakable, authoritative and useful. Worth the purchase.

I bought this book based on Winston Churchill’s recommendation. It’s quite interesting, reading something which influenced him.

Da noi non esiste un libro del genere. È bello passarci le serate in famiglia, i momenti liberi da soli o in compagnia. Stimola i pensieri e le idee, e non è cosa da poco. Davvero una raccolta ricca e approfondita di temi che attraversano spazio e tempo e giungono a noi, a volte intatti, a volte antichi e lontani. Interessante e divertente.

Yes - a new book was cheaper than the used copies. That's great as no writing in the margin. It's a large book, but well worth it. The 2012 version is not the latest but it's certainly perfect for looking up all the older quotes that matter.