The Optimist's/Pessimist's Handbook: A Companion to Hope and Despair

by Niall Edworthy, Petra Cramsie

A two-in-one gift book for different personality types offers opposing pessimistic and optimistic perspectives on topics ranging from baldness and globalization to travel, marriage, beauty, education, and more. 45,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Philosophy

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Ștefania Ioana Chiorean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the small paragraph to put you on a side of the coin. You choose what u see.

[David Gallagher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because this book was a gift by one of my best friends, I don't want to write a bad review and disappoint her. But I felt like this book was kind of tedious, under-whelming and uninspired. The pessimist's side is much more fun (and not because I'm a pessimist by nature!) and you get to learn quite a few things due to all the "info boxes" it has - even though they are sort of depressing. The "About The Authors" was incredibly funny to read on both sides! And the book provides many website addresses and if feels like an ad campaign at some point. But it's not a book you can just begin reading and feel like continue reading after a while. You just sorta want to "get through it." My favorite quotes from it were:

Optimist's Side

Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly. ~Robert Kennedy

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. ~Andre Gide

Live all you can. It's a mistake not to. ~Henry James

Hitch your wagon to a star.~Emerson

Pessimist's Side

It is better to be careful a hundred times than to be killed once.~Proverb

If you see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the incoming train.~Robert Lowell

Cat, n: a soft, indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong.~Ambrose Bierce

You teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.~George W. Bush

[Caron · Rating 3 out of 5]

★||Actual Rating: 2.8 stars||★

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m of two minds about this one. On the one hand, I think it’s great. On the other hand, I think it’s terrific. Various pundits, artists, writers, publicists, suffragettes, et al., bring their thoughts to bear on some of the weightier and lighter subjects that have teased humanity. Whether you have a jaundiced view of the world or a perky one, this book brings its lights to shine in the darkness.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like people don’t understand the point of this book, although I’m still reading and don’t know what’s going to happen next I would just like to say this book is about other people’s opinion and even though it’s not that helpful (in my opinion), this book depicts people’s experiences. I feel like I’m not going to re-read, maybe if I want some quotes I will, but it’s not a bad book.

[EJ Bumatay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mainly read the pessimists Handbook and it was cool I suppose Being that I'm into philosophy and this book is just really philosophical with its information and lines from important people in history.

[Manoj Keswani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just read a few pages. It's Just quotes.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Be warned, at least several of these "quotes" were never made by the people cited in this collection (Gandhi never said "Be the change you want to see in the world."), and it isn't worth trying to track down the authenticity of all or any of them. Worse, the anecdotal tidbits interspersed are un-sourced, so there's no way of confirming veracity.

It's a gentle pair of reads. But don't think of quoting from it unless you can confirm the source. Nearly got one star for quoting Dinesh D'Souza. Fortunately, I got it on clearance.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a clever little book with witty quotes, side bars, and little snippets of information. The first half is The Optimist's Handbook and then flip it over when you get halfway and resume with The Pessimist's Handbook--or vice versa depending on the option with which you begin. It's easy to pick up and just as easy to put down--ideal reading for just a few moments when you're really too tired to read, but want to wind down or quiet the voices before turning in.

[Alexandra Maria Steblea · Rating 2 out of 5]

O carte cu citate , texte , sintagme , povestiri și multe altele din toată lumea . Unele Clasamente nu mai sunt de actualitate .
Sigur oricine ar găsi un citat sa unde potrivească , dar nu cred ca merita citită toată cartea doar pentru asta .
Capitolele nu au legătura între ele deci pot fi citite oricum oricând

[Bri Molles · Rating 5 out of 5]

full of trivia, quotes, wisdom and distractions <3 it's got everything that could possibly entertain you in bite size form, categorized by broad topics like Religion, Sex, etc

A very BALANCED read ;D

[[ps...] Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book on the good and bad things in life, every subject is written from a pessemist / optimist view on opposite sides of the book, quite interesting and very amusing

[Nada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great book for good quotes and bad quotes.

[Gafiteanu Vladimir · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. Plain Horrible:(

[Emily Brant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this kind of book for when I'm going to bed. It's a simple thing that keeps my mind distracted. I want more like it.