An essential reference, but...
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I would not be without this reference book, and enjoy an occasional "flick through" it to read the erudite, profound or witty sayings or writings of men and women from throughout history to the present day, not to mention some anonymous ones, advertising slogans and catchphrases. The first quoted may be Homer, from the 8th Century BC, although some verses from the bible are probably the oldest expressions listed.
I find it less successful when I am trying to identify who it was who first used an expression or saying, but this must inevitably be the case. While biased towards the English language - there are 50 pages of Shakespeare's alone - there are quotations from the whole world, and even in 850 pages or so (the index occupies another 300 pages) no one can realistically include more than a small proportion.
I do wonder, therefore, why the editors include the Latin as well as the English translations of those quotations that originated in that language, but not, generally, the French, German or other foreign langauges of others.
While Wikipedia and the internet is a valuable resource as well, this is not a book that you will ever regret buying.
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A must for all writers
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Its very size is comforting: my old one was becoming dog-eared so I invested in a new one. I find it difficult to believe there aren't more reviews of this because I would have thought it almost essential for anyone writing a book, screenplay, article, short story or speech, especially for material out of copyright.
Yes, the internet can be useful but is rarely authoritative. This is. If you're serious about the creation of literary works in whatever form, avoid this at your peril...
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A quote!! A quote!! My kingdom for a quote!!
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This is the most amazing collection of quotations I have got my hands on. Look up quotes by keywords, by the authors or partial phrase if you only sort of know how it goes but want to read the whole quote.
Worth every penny and it will be a long time getting through it!
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