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The 2, 548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
From Goethe to Churchill to woody Allen, Robert Byrne has mined a collection of wit and wisdom that deserves a special place on every humor lover's bookshelf.
565 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 13, 2012
Wow...what a disappointment. This book has actually been on my shelf for quite some time, as I was waiting for the right moment to savor these seemingly wonderful quotes...the BEST things anyone EVER said!? Being a great fan of good quotes, I thought for sure I'd be jotting things down from every page, but these quotes...it is inconceivable to me how a majority of them made the cut.
First off, you can cut the number 2,548 down considerably simply by eliminating the repetitiveness of the following quotes:
"Plato is a bore" - Nietzsche
"Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal" - Leo Tolstoy
Seriously. Even with the understanding that this book was actually 4 books combined, those 2 quotes (as well as a few others) are repeated every few pages. I do not exaggerate.
My second criticism of the book is that in more than one instance, the quote attributed to that individual as BEST, has them reduced to how they'd be stereotypically viewed by society in general.
"My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato..." - Oprah
"Isn't there any other part of the matzo you can eat?" - Marilyn Monroe on being served matzo ball soup three meals in a row.
Sadmaking that Oprah dreams of potatoes, whilst Marilyn is portrayed as a dumb blonde.
Don't get me wrong, there are a few memorable quotes scattered throughout the book...the key word in that sentence being FEW.
First off, you can cut the number 2,548 down considerably simply by eliminating the repetitiveness of the following quotes:
"Plato is a bore" - Nietzsche
"Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal" - Leo Tolstoy
Seriously. Even with the understanding that this book was actually 4 books combined, those 2 quotes (as well as a few others) are repeated every few pages. I do not exaggerate.
My second criticism of the book is that in more than one instance, the quote attributed to that individual as BEST, has them reduced to how they'd be stereotypically viewed by society in general.
"My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato..." - Oprah
"Isn't there any other part of the matzo you can eat?" - Marilyn Monroe on being served matzo ball soup three meals in a row.
Sadmaking that Oprah dreams of potatoes, whilst Marilyn is portrayed as a dumb blonde.
Don't get me wrong, there are a few memorable quotes scattered throughout the book...the key word in that sentence being FEW.
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January 24, 2012This book indeed had the best things anybody ever said. It was funny and intriguing all at the same time. There were also some very important life lessons to be learned. The quotes were from some very interesting people, many of whom I would never imagine saying such things that they said. Initially, I began reading the book because it seemed funny. Many of the quotes were more jokes than anything else. But looking deeper, you realize that there are some morals to every miniature story.
February 25, 2011
This is a superb book.
March 17, 2011
Not a bad collection, but I prefer more serious quotes to almost all jokes. Also, this book has very little organization and I do prefer everything neatly categorized.
January 16, 2012
A FUN BOOK!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews