What do you think?
Rate this book
Bartlett's Words to Live By: Advice and Inspiration for Everyday Life
For 150 years people have looked to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations for wisdom, inspiration, and pure fun. Here now is an elegant new collection of the best advice ever given, inspiring words from the world's wisest men and women.
In 1855, Massachusetts bookseller John Bartlett self-published a small collection of prose and verse quotations. Since then, his volume has been continuously expanded and published to reflect the ever-changing cultural climate. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations remains the most authoritative, thought-provoking, and entertaining book of quotations available.
Readers will be delighted by insights that span almost five thousand years of human history, from ancient Egypt to the modern day, capturing the differences-and the similarities-of human thought over time.
With its thoughtful and entertaining selection of quotes, Bartlett's Words to Live By is an enlightening gift for the graduate or the student of life and a splendid addition to the reference shelf.
"There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval." -George Santayana
"Truth is great and its effectiveness endures." -Ptahhotpe
From such varied sources as the Bible, Jane Austen, and John F. Kennedy, everyone is sure to find a gem.
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." -Muhammad Ali
"In my end is my beginning." -Mary, Queen of Scots
" Bartlett City's Familiar Quotations is an admirable work, and I studied it intently." -Sir Winston Churchill
In 1855, Massachusetts bookseller John Bartlett self-published a small collection of prose and verse quotations. Since then, his volume has been continuously expanded and published to reflect the ever-changing cultural climate. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations remains the most authoritative, thought-provoking, and entertaining book of quotations available.
Readers will be delighted by insights that span almost five thousand years of human history, from ancient Egypt to the modern day, capturing the differences-and the similarities-of human thought over time.
With its thoughtful and entertaining selection of quotes, Bartlett's Words to Live By is an enlightening gift for the graduate or the student of life and a splendid addition to the reference shelf.
"There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval." -George Santayana
"Truth is great and its effectiveness endures." -Ptahhotpe
From such varied sources as the Bible, Jane Austen, and John F. Kennedy, everyone is sure to find a gem.
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." -Muhammad Ali
"In my end is my beginning." -Mary, Queen of Scots
" Bartlett City's Familiar Quotations is an admirable work, and I studied it intently." -Sir Winston Churchill
- GenresReferenceNonfiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 4, 2006
6 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
John Bartlett
36 books10 followersAmerican publisher and editor John Bartlett compiled
Familiar Quotations
in 1855 and a Shakespearean concordance in 1894.
From fathers of the Mayflower, the ship of the Pilgrims, he descended. A very bright boy, he read at three years of age in 1823 and finished the entire Bible before nine years of age in 1829. He finished school in 1836 and went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and work for the university bookstore that served Harvard.
He owned the store before 1849. Stumped persons in the community knew to "ask John Bartlett," for trivia.
He began keeping a commonplace book to answer queries and in 1855 privately printed it first. From 169 authors, those 258 pages contained entries. From the Bible and from the works of the bard came one-third of the book; from the great English poets came lines in most of the balance.
From fathers of the Mayflower, the ship of the Pilgrims, he descended. A very bright boy, he read at three years of age in 1823 and finished the entire Bible before nine years of age in 1829. He finished school in 1836 and went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and work for the university bookstore that served Harvard.
He owned the store before 1849. Stumped persons in the community knew to "ask John Bartlett," for trivia.
He began keeping a commonplace book to answer queries and in 1855 privately printed it first. From 169 authors, those 258 pages contained entries. From the Bible and from the works of the bard came one-third of the book; from the great English poets came lines in most of the balance.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 5, 2008
GREAT quote resource!! Love this book... don't go anywhere without it!
April 23, 2013
A fantastic quote book that is only enhanced by an even better foreward by Kurt Vonnegut. A must-have.
March 23, 2014
Authoritative and accessible. These selections from the full collection are focused as advertised. It is just what it claims to be. The Kurt Vonnegut intro is great.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews