“Talkers are no good doers.”– William Shakespeare
“The height of cleverness is to be able to conceal it.”– FranÇois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld
“It is hard to believe a man is telling you the truth when you know you would lie if you were in his place.”– H. L. Mencken
“It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.– Gore Vidal
“Women keep a special corner of their hearts for sins theyhave never committed.”– Cornelia Otis Skinner
“You lose it if you talk about it.– Ernest Hemingway
“The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.”– William Butler Yeats
“Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five.”– William Somerset Maugham
You don’t have to be a genius to sound like one. Here’s a collection of the most profound and provocative wit and wisdom in the English language in two lines or less. Edited by entrepreneur John M. Shanahan, who created the wildly successful Hooked on Phonics program, this wonderful book presents the best that has been thought and said on every imaginable topic.
Classified by such themes as “Truth, Lies, and Deception,” “Men, Women, and Relationships,” and “Passions, Virtues, and Vices,” these quotes contain timeless messages for all humankind. Oscar Wilde: “A man who marries his mistress leaves a vacancy in that position.” Charles de Gaulle: “The cemetery is filled with indispensable men.” Abraham Lincoln: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Sophocles: “Men of ill judgment oft ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it.”
Perfect for anyone who has ever been left speechless, this book will make you as glib as Oscar Wilde, as profound as Winston Churchill, and as wise as Aesop. Inspirational, entertaining, and thought-provoking, this is one collection that no library or bookshelf should be without.
A Mite Self-Serving The title alone makes the modest person back up a little and think, “Are you SURE?” And yes, the author considers a few of his own Most Brilliant Thoughts worthy of inclusion. (We blush for him.) I was surprised that the “Reader’s Digest” was the source for some of the material, and a few (very few, to be fair) of the brilliant thinkers were Oprah, Erica Jong, and Marlene Dietrich. Delightful ladies all, but Most Brilliant Thinkers of All Time?Â
Great book to peruse once a day. .Â
Most of the most intelligent one-liners of all time This is a great little book to read when you are looking for illumination by humanity’s intellects and wags. Shanahan has done a good job of editing these into topical sections. My only complaint with the book is that the editor decides to include a number of his own thoughts among the “Most Brilliant”. Now he is a smart man, to be sure, but it is just a little too prideful to include yourself in such a book. His first self quote appears on the very first page of quotes. What…