20 October 2006
This extensive and extremely well-researched book of quotations by Fred Shapiro contains over 12,000 quotations from a variety of sources. It not only includes the usual literary quotes found in such collections, such as T.S. Eliot’s:
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
But also quotes from popular culture, such as this one by Tupac Shakur:
California love!
California–knows how to party
And from sources like advertising slogans:
I can’t believe I ate the whole thing." (Alka Seltzer)
As is the usual practice in such collections, the quotes are arranged by author with a key word index in the back matter. Each quotation includes a source, often quite specific and sometimes surprising. For example, we all recall the quote, but who remembers that this famous line was uttered during remarks on an after-school child-care initiative in January 1998:
I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.
Every good library should have at least one good quotations reference, and the broad mix of quotations makes the Yale Book of Quotations an excellent choice.
Hardcover; 1,104 pp; Yale University Press; October 2006; ISBN: 0300107986; $50.00
