Product Description
Rather like the nerves in human body, communication forms the sinew and tendon of any social body. The quality of everyday life is not only affected by the way we design our work and institutions, but also (perhaps more importantly) by the way we interact and communicate with each other. This booklet attempts to help its readers to become more effective oral communicators in various scenarios.

Every chapter in this booklet is largely divided into three parts:
(1) reflective and motivational quotations,
(2) guidelines for communication in a certain context, and
(3) versatile phrases for that context.

The quotations are intended to emotionally and philosophically motivate the readers to strive for better communication. The guidelines are intended to cognitively guide the readers in their communication practices. And the versatile phrases are intended to logistically supply for the readersÂ’ communication practices. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Around the world in quotations
Another treasure chest of specialized quotations from Routledge & Kegan Paul.This giant reference book is packed with perceptive quotes, both long and pithy, on thousands of locations around the world.The longest sections are on Britain and the U. S. The only glaring omission, IMO, is the absence of any mention of Krakatoa.The collection, published in 1983, has begun to date somewhat, as under-represented countries like Korea have become more prominent and hence more quote-worthy in recent decades.But that shortcoming is more than compensated for with the wealth of great historical quotes.Wonderful, just wonderful...

The Travel Writer's Essential
Peter Yapp's "The Travellers' Dictionary of Quotation" is an essential for any budding travel writer or travel enthusiast, containing quotes on every destination imaginable. It was recommended to me at atravel writers workshop as a "must have".

Use this book as areference for writing or as a guide for your next holiday. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Over 2,400 quotations, organized under 11 broad subject groupings, from sources ancient to modern, are included. Each entry provides author, source and year. ... Read more

Product Description
This touching collection offers words of reflection from revered poets, writers, and experts of all backgrounds and eras on the unparalleled joys and responsibilities of raising children. For anyone about to undertake the crucial role of parenting, this book provides wonderful insight into the endless blessings children bring to our lives. And for those who have already experienced the joys of parenthood, it is a gentle reminder of the warmth that comes from nurturing the dreams, growth, and love of a child.

The handmade paper chose for the cover of this book is specially crafted from mulberry trees, with real flower petals, grasses, leaves, and bark embedded in the paper. Using age-old techniques, this paper is made without cutting down trees or harming the natural environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Touching reflections of parenting.
I bought this book as a gift for a friend who just had her first child.In it, many inspiring poems share the joys and responsibilities of raising children.I feel that it is a great gift idea providing words of comfort to expecting parents, as well as people who may already have children. ... Read more

Product Description
Not just an anthology, this extensive index offers keyword, title, and author name access to more than 1,800 quotations from nearly 500 classic, award-winning, and popular works for children. Pearls of humor and wisdom from authors such as the Brothers Grimm, Dr. Seuss, Judith Viorst, and Shel Silverstein are at your fingertips. Very few quotations have been indexed in other works, making this a unique tool to find that elusive quote. ... Read more

Product Description

Editors David Crystal and Hilary Crystal culled (and frequently corrected)quotations from elsewhere; they also read widely, gathering quotations fromoriginal sources. They were often surprised, they say in the book'sintroduction, by which texts rendered the most quotations: the works ofLaurence Sterne, for example, were "unexpectedly fruitful"; Pepys'sDiary, on the other hand, "yielded next to nothing." In theirreading, the editors sought, among other qualities, "succinctness andautonomy of expression." They found this with abundance in the works ofOscar Wilde, as well as in those of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Montaigne,Emerson, Samuel Johnson, Dickens, and Ambrose Bierce (his unequaledDevil's Dictionary is widely quoted). The quotations have beensorted into 65 categories, focusing on such topics as language origins,usage, multilingualism, verbosity, slang, and the language of politics. Onemight think, given David Crystal's renown as a linguist, that professionallinguists might have made a strong showing here. No go. "On the whole," theCrystals say, "linguists are remarkably unquoteworthy." --JaneSteinberg ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Witty, wonderful and wise words
Everyone seems to have something to say about words. The wise, the not so wise; the educated, the less-educated; writers, poets, politicians. What would it be like to hear them all tell us what they thought about language? In Words on Words the compilers provide us with 5000 quotations from a wide range of sources.

The book is very well organized: about one half of the book (300 pages)is a systematicly organized collection of the quotations, the remaining pages (280) provides indices to sources and topics. You should be able to find any quote of interest quite easily.

David Crystal is a very familiar name in linguistic circles and has extensive editing experience. This new volume exhibits his same care for detail and provides yet another useful volume for students (and teachers) of language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Best Book for a Desert Island
I now own six copies of this book, though two are on the way in the mail from Amazon. I like to give them as presents or loan them out. One I picked up at a library sale for $1. I first discovered it some 35 or more years ago. Both of the first two reviewers understate its quality. Just to add a bit about Mencken's methods, he started the collection of quotes by writing down good ones on small pieces of paper and then put each in a jar. This was a process that took decades and came from his own reading, research and letters. I consider this book the single most contributing factor in my education, knowledge, insight, and if I may humbly add, any wisdom I may have acquired. That's why if I were to be marooned on a desert island, this is an easy choice for a single book to take. The best part is that it has pages and pages on most people's favorite subjects such as men, women, alcohol and drinking, love, laughter, happiness, historical figures from all areas such as science, politics, music, art, religion, philosophy, and that great favorite of all quote books, Shakespeare. Sometimes when I am struggling with life or with something in particular, I pick up the book and look up the issue or issues I am dealing with. Inevitably, I find something that makes me happier because of perspective or because I find that my thoughts are reflected in those of others even from centuries past. Or I find some added insight I had not considered. Though Mencken was a vitriolic critic of organized religion, especially Christianity, his open mind and own knowledge of the Bible is shown in the many quotations from it. While not my favorite quote, a Chinese proverb is probably the one I have told the most to other people, "Don't stand when you can sit and don't sit when you can lie down." The one critic is right in that there is nothing from after 1942. It's disappointing not to hear from such sages as Ashley Roachclip, Redd Foxx (Fred Sanford), later Gandhi, participants in the Cold War, modern demagogues, and writers, and any number of social critics like himself. Unfortunately, Mencken had a massive stroke in 1947 and died 10 years later or he may have updated this as he did his study of the English Language, which is still considered the best of its kind by scholars. The only thing that surpasses Mencken are some of the reviews on Amazon and comments on YouTube.

One of the Best Quotation Books
This is not a new book, but it is loaded with great quotations, and they are well documented. It is subject- rather than author organized, which makes it easier to browse by topic, in my mind, making it more useful for someone seeking quotations for writing or speaking.

As a quotation book collector (see my other reviews) owning over 400 quote books, I'd rate this one in the top five percent. When I discovered my 1942 copy in a used bookstore and realized what a treasure trove of new material it contains (lots!-- over 1300 pages of smaller type. I estimate it contains at least 30,000 quotations,) it really made my day. There are only so many really great books which are delicious treats. So many are re-packagings of older ones. This book contains just a super batch of idea nuggets, collected by one of the brightest journalistic minds of the time.

Mencken basically took his quote collection and made it into a book which would supplement the popular books of the time-- Bartlett's, Hoyt and Stevenson. His stated goals were to date all the quotes and proverbs, leave out the fluff (platitudes), and add a lot more topics.

He comments, " Some immemorial imbecilities have been added deliberately , on the ground that it is just as interesting to note how foolish men have been as to note how wise they have been."

Now maybe it's just my read of him, but Mencken's choices reflect his acerbic wit.

I've been working too long on putting my own quotation book together, subject by subject (600+ done so far) and this is one book I always check out for both the unusual and unique thought and the most familiar ones, which he seems to nail very often. As a matter of fact, it is remarkable how often he does this.

It's been around along time, and so, unless it has been seriously updated, which I doubt, it is mostly good for more classic quotes. But it is excellent, and always a fun browse.

Since it's about the same price as the Burton Stevenson Home Book of Quotations, also called the MacMillan book of Maxims, Proverbs...... or something like that, it's not an easy choice between the two. This book spares you from some pretty sappy, bland and uninspiring stuff you'll find in the massive Stevenson book. But the Stevenson book is soooo much bigger that I'd probably pick it first, over just about any other quotation book. This book is certainly among the top ten though, for someone who wants a comprehensive quotation book library.

The day after the W inauguration, here's a line, from this book from Jefferson, That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part." Thomas Jefferson: Letter to H.D. Tiffin, 1807

Note the source and date. These are some of the nice features of this book.

Rather dull
I have a much better time looking through some of the quote pages on the internet than through this book. It contains some good quotes but they are buried in a mass of really commonplace utterances. ... Read more

Product Description
Thoroughly revised and updated, the new edition of the classic reference encompasses more than twenty thousand quotations, arranged chronologically and featuring the wit and wisdom of such newcomers as Russell Baker, Mel Brooks, and Salman Rushdie. 75,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Best Literatrary Buy on the Net
Twice the price would have been a bargain!Seller right on the spot with sending this great piece of literature.

Start Your Title Search Here
If you're looking for a title to your novel or original screenplay, start with this exhaustive compilation of the great quotations of the world. Another reason to use it is to find out whether it was Mark Twain or H. L. Mencken who first said dotty things about California!

Passable but certainly not the best ...
This edition is a bit too trendy (and, especially, too "politically correct" in some respects) and omits many classic quotes featured in previous editions.I shall stay with my 15th edition and actually wish I had kept my 14th and 13th as well.Hopefully, the earlier variations are still available in nice condition at a reasonable price. I intend to do a search for some of those earlier versions and I recommend that other serious "quote book" users do the same.

How Do They Know That?
I always wondered how speakers knew all those quotations.Now I know.They check "Barltett's Quotations."

This book consists of an extensive collection of thousands of familiar quotations from hundreds of sources spanning the history of the world.Biblical books, literary works, historical figures, authors, politicians, religious figures and even the anonymous all contribute to this vast collection.

The collection is assembled by source, listed, more or less, chronologically.The book contains two indices.In the front, the reader finds the Index by Authors.After the quotations, we find a general index of topics.For each listing in the general index, we find the lead word as a heading with the citation for each lead word with the words which follow it in the quotation.

I have found this book to be a valuable resource on many occasions.Just reading through it educates the reader to the source of many sayings with which we are familiar.When I have been searching my brain for the particular phrase, I have often found it in "Bartlett's".When looking for a witty phrase with which to liven a speech, "Bartlett's" often comes in handy.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who needs a source for quotations for speeches, writings, or just to satisfy your own curiosity.

Ne Plus Ultra
"Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinions in good men is but knowledge in the making."

--John Milton

If you've a desire to learn, read great massive chunks of wisdom, and experience some of the finest writing known to exist, Bartlett's Quotations is a wonderful place to do it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The absolutely best book for anyone who aspires to be a writer.
Out of the hundreds of books in my personal library, this is one of my favorite quote texts.It is a huge tome of 372 pages of wit and profound quotations by writers about writing.It covers an enormous amount of material.It has valuable advice to young writers, as well as quotes from all aspects of the writer's life. This is a book about the trials and tribulations of being a writer. Every serious writer knows the emotional roller coaster ride involved in their vocation.The well-known writers in this volume sometimes contradict each other, but it does not matter.This is a book for anyone who is a writer or who aspires to become a writer.Rating:5 Stars.Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Season of the Warrior: a poetic tribute to writers, Never Trust a Politician, Martial Art Myths, Monadnock Defensive Tactics (MDTS) System, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques).

"All American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called "Huckleberry Finn". Ernest Hemmingway

This is a wonderful treasure for people who like quotations;and even more so if you like quotations abour books,writers,critics and readers.
This book is the result of a personal collection of quotations by the author from the time he was only 17 and had his first notion of becoming a writer.
Being a rather small book of 5 1/2" X 6 1/4 " ;it might appear to be insignificient sitting on the bookshelf;but don't let that fool you.It is 372 pages with many hundreds of quotations by over 500 different writers. While some are from outside America,most are from the US.The breadth and variety of people and topics is exceeding great for a book of this type. The quotations are presented under 50 different subjects .Just to show the subjects covered;let melist a few; Best-Sellers,Censorship,Colleagues,Critics,Editors,Fiction,Money,Output,Fame,
Publicity,Posterity,Techniques,Work Habits,Readers and Reading,Publishers,Success and on and on.
Then at the back of the book we are given two indexes;one by Writers and another, Alphabetically.
You are sure to find quotes from most of your favorite writers and also many you may not be as familiar with;but you are going to be astounded with the quotes Winokur has assembled for your enjoyment.
This book was first written in 1986 and reprinted a few times,and when you see how comprehensive it is,it's little wonder it is still available.If there is any shortcoming,it has to be that there are no quotations from some of the more "recent writers" such as McMurtry ,King and so on;so maybe we will see a new updated edition edition one of these days.Here are a couple of quotes you'll find here;

"There are no dull subjects.There are only dull writers."H.L.Mencken

"Write without pay until someone offers to pay;if nobody offers within
three years,sawing wood is what you were intended for."Mark Twain

"I'm a commercial writer,not an "author". Margaret Mitchell was an
author.She wrote one book."Mickey Spillane

"I have never been a title man.I don't give a damn what it is called."
John Steinbeck

"I think you must remember that a writer is a simple-minded person
to begin with and go on that basis.He's not a great mind,he's not a
great thinker,he's not a great philosopher,he's a storyteller."
Erskine Caldwell

"A writer has nothing to say after forty;if he is clever he knows how
to hide it."Georges Simenon

"His style is chaos,illuminated by flashes of lightning. As a writer he
has mastered everything but language;as a novelist he can do
everything but tell a story;as an artist,he is everything,except
articulate.Oscar Wilde on George Meredith

"He festooned the dung heap on which he had placed himself with
sonnets as people grow honeysuckle around outdoor privies."Quentin
Crisp on Oscar Wilde

This book stopped me from stopping writing
I could cry that this book is out of print. I pored over its pages when I was first writing fiction. I highlighted stuff. It kept me going. I still refer to it. We can hear the voices of writers in it, dead and alive.

Like this:

"A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to the individual." --Vladimir Nabokov

"We have art in order not to die of the truth."--Friedrich Nietzsche

"Poets have to dream, and dreaming in America is no cinch."--Saul Bellow

"There is no way of being a creative writer in America without being a loser."--Nelson Algren

"Writers don't have lifestyles. They sit in little rooms and write."--Norman Mailer

"I never wanted to grow up to be a writer; I just wanted to grow up to be an adult."--Toni Morrrison

Required Reading For Aspiring Writers
It puzzles me beyond belief that "Writers on Writing" is out of print. This book is a grand, well-chosen collection of quotes on such apects of writing--from getting published, to starting out, to writer's block. Jon Winokur is a quote-collecting master. When I first became serious about writing, I found this book at my local library, and found it hard to put down, and extremely helpful and insightful. I was being taught by the likes of such literary greats as Truman Capote, Lewis Carroll, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is an educational journey all the way through, using down to earth quotes from those who know, rather than a drawn out step-by-step instructional book. It cured my writer's block, and improved my amateur work. Required reading for aspiring writers. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... Read more

Product Description
A dictionary of the observable world features definition-first organization; passages from the writings of James, Updike, Chandler, and others; and words concerning shapes, textures, colors, terrain, structures, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Words, Words, Words
This book is easy to use and full of ideas. Love it and use it all the time.

The oldcrowe used book store: bought Describer's Dictionary
The oldcrowe bookstore delivered as stated. A used book in very good condition!I'm happy there are still honest retailers out there.

A Terrific Dictionary and Great Review of Skilled Writing
Gramb's Describer's Dictionary is one of the finest books written about the written word.It's a dictionary, but it is much more than that.It's important to note the subtitle of this book (A Treasury of Terms and Literary Quotations for Readers and Writers) because this subtitle gets to the heart of what makes this book so special.

To begin, this dictionary/book lists over 2,000 useful words for describing things, animals, and people to include the following subgroups: shapes, patterns, surface and textures, size, position, relation, proportion, emblems, symbols, light, colors, building structures, terrain and landscape, climate, clouds, species adjectives (e.g., bovine and many many more), types, technical terminology, perceived attractiveness, body types, face, heads, hair, eyes, noses, ears, mouths, lips, teeth, skin coloring, hand, fingers, legs, knees, feet, jaws, walk, voices, necks, mannerisms, general appearance, and more.In other words, this dictionary will help reader, writer, and observer to economically and accurately identify his (or her) surroundings.
Just one look at the pages of this book should be enough to hook those who enjoy the art of description.

There are some great words in this book (some common, but many underused useful words are listed as well--even the most well-versed will find hundreds of gems in this book), but what really makes this book essential for those interested in accurately (and beautifully) describing their surroundings is Gramb's inclusion of passages from great literature.This gives the reader a real sense for how powerful (and beautiful) words are.Authors on display include Carver, Twain, Cummings, Updike, Baldwin, Percy, Dickens, Melville, Hawthorne, Woolf, Faulkner, Joyce, Orwell, Nabokov, and many more.

Those interested in words, description, and great writing will love this book.I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The Most Valuable Resource for Writers Ever!!!!
Excellent Work by Grambs! If you need the cutting edge of literary description of anything from homes to people in incessant and meticulous detail. In fact, of my expansive and elaborate literary library, it is myfavorite! Undeniably the best work for a beginning writer. Undeniably thebest resource for writers needing to talk shop with their own souls.Irrepressible, benevolent, indeliable to the articulation of theimagination! Buy it Today!

Cameron Rowe ... Read more

Product Description
Students learn all the basics about using quotation markscorrectly with this book, part of our new "Teaching the Boring Stuff"series. The activities are interesting to young people, often using amonster theme to keep their attention. (Don't worry; they are"wholesome" monsters!)

Quotation Marks uses language that real kids can understand.Also,students are asked to do much more than just fill in punctuationmarks.They are required to use what they learn, incorporatingquotation marks correctly into material they write themselves. ... Read more

Product Description
This little book does not try to, and cannot take place of a textbook on creative writing.My focus has remained not so much in telling people how to write, but in trying to point out both dead ends and gold mines. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A great little book!
I so enjoyed this little book. It is full of great and very useful writing tips.

A Lot of Help, A Little Repetative
I debated for a while over whether or not to give this title three or four stars. If I were basing it on the *amount* of content, I would have given it a three-star review, as Long repeats many of his pearls of writing wisdom--albeit in different words and with different specific applications--several times throughout his book. However, they are almost all wonderful tips for writers and can bear a little repetition without making the reader/writer feel as though s/he is being demeaned.

Basing my review upon the *usefulness* of the book, as I eventually did, my review was at least four stars. It is a *wonderful* book for any writer and can't ever be read too many times. It is always refreshing to re-read it and get "back to the basics" of writing. Long has a wonderfully helpful, down-to-earth approach for presenting the facts and tips of writing and ranges from helping the reader force him or herself to sit down and write, to developing a style, refreshing a blocked mind, and knowing when to *stop* writing.

By placing before his readers some of the myriad of problems faced by the writer, acknowledging that these problems are okay, and offering a few ways they might be avoided or at least accepted (in those cases where they can't be avoided), Long seems just able to give the writer that little bit of extra encouragement to push on and manages somehow to hit on much of the joy, the pain, and (most importantly) much of the *truth* of the writing process. It is a great book filled with useful information for writers, regardless of the level of their advancement.

A lot of widom in this little book
I've had this book for three years and use it more than any other book I have on writing.What magic a few words can spin in the mind to dust away the cobwebs.I reach for it whenever I need to feel motivated or when my creativity begins to wane.This is a great, inexpensive gift to give any writer, beginner or experienced. ... Read more

Product Description
"I coulda been a contender." Molotov cocktail. Catch 22. Beatrice.Our language is chock-full of allusions: terms, names, and phrases that have been shorthanded for certain attributes or circumstances.This dictionary explains the current meanings and original contexts of more than 1,500 allusions of the past millennium drawn from history, literature, art, and mass culture. Eminently useful and fun to browse, this is an essential resource for writers, students, and general readers.

Sample entries include:
* Apple pie: A quintessential American dish that has become a metaphor for American values
* K-Mart: The name of this department store chain has become a symbol of bargain-basement products
* Wall Street: The location of the Stock Exchange brings to mind huge financial deals, insider trading, and greed. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
"Writers," says James Charlton in the preface to hisWriter's Quotation Book, "love quotations. They lovequoting someone else's work almost as much as they love quoting theirown." What started as a 16-page giveaway in 1979 has been revisedand expanded considerably (the book is now divided into over 60sections) and is now in its fourth edition. Like its manycontributors, Charlton's compendium is at turns wise, wry, sincere,and self-deprecating. The effect is that of an expansive club, whosemembers understand the writer's blank stares out the window, themocking taunt of a stack of white paper, the rejection dejection, andthe glee that comes with first holding in one's hands a book withone's name on it. "You need a certain amount of nerve to be awriter," says MargaretAtwood here, "an almost physical nerve, the kind you need towalk a log across a river." --Jane Steinberg ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Quotes, quotes, and more wonderful quotes!
"The Writer's Quotation Book: A Literary Companion" is a wonderful little book, which speaks the truth about books/reading and writing.The book quotes are the ones I really loved, but everything is great.Great for book lovers and writers!I recommend.

Inspiration for Writers
Writing is a solitary endeavor. Reading quotations from other writers is a way to get advice from your peers. This is a most inspirational book.

For coverage, click on Table of Contents in the left-hand column of this page.

James Charlton is an editor, publisher, compiler and the author of nearly three-dozen books. He loves writing and writers.

As the author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I highly recommend this book to writers. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

Delightfully Funny; Brutally Honest
As an 'aspiring' writer I could appreciate the wonderful humor, insight, and honestly from the various quotes regarding the writing industry. From writers' block, to publishers are demons, to how writers feel about beingbroke, this book is charming and a must-have for wanna be or currentprofessional writers. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Quote Book
This book gives readers great quotes to work with as well as pointing out many spurious quotes as well. ... Read more

Product Description
Representing over 30 years of searching and researching, this reference contains a collection of controversial ideas--the words and thoughts that have moved humankind--offering a wellspring for all who seek to enlighten, enourage, persuade, or inspire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Thanks George!
This is a great book that I will treasure for years and years to come. The great thoughts of the ages wonderfully compiled by a very wise man. From Ghandi and Wordsworth to Christ and Thoreau. WOW!

Thanks George!

The Great Quotations by George Seldes
This is an excellent work for literature majors, history buffs,
speechwriters, current events enthusiasts and a host of other
academics and professionals. Here are some gems:
o The great artist is the simplifier. (Ariel)
o The goal of all life is death. (Freud)
o Let us dare to read, think, speak and write. (Adams)
o All men naturally desire knowledge. (Aristotle)
o The wretched souls of those who lived
Without or praise or blame. (Dante)
o The greatest intellectual capacities are only found in
connection with a vehement and passionate will.(Schopenhauer)

Buy this book to round out your general knowledge of literature,
world leaders and the great speeches of our time and times past. ... Read more