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Tasmanian Anglican

April 2004

 

 

 

 


The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations
by Robert Andrews. Penguin Books, 2003.
RRP $29.95

 

 

Book Review - The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations

reviewed by Philip Blake

 

 

Who said the following?

  • The English may not like music, but they absolutely love the noise it makes.
  • Humour is by far the most significant activity of the human brain.
  • Anyone afraid of what he thinks television does to the world, is probably just afraid of the world.
  • A church which has lost its memory is in a sad state of senility.
  • When they're dealing with the dead, priests are always right.

This is just a selection of the 8,000 quotations from the voices of the modern age which will be found in this book. The answers to the questions will appear at the end of this review.

The quotations are arranged in alphabetical order of authorship and each author is introduced by dates of birth etc. and a brief biography. At the close of the book an index enables the enquirer to find the quotations under subjects.

This is a most valuable resource volume when looking for modern, or fairly modern quotations. It is very wide in its scope of authors; British, European and American authors are quoted in plenty and some in considerable detail. I would suggest that most writers or speakers across a wide spectrum of disciplines and arts are included here. It is a little thin on Australian writers and speakers, but perhaps we need to make ourselves more visible!

I can recommend this paperback of 709 pages as a valuable resource. It is just the book to consult when you are asked at short notice to make a speech, give a talk or even preach a sermon!

The quotations were as follows, (a) Sir Thomas Beecham, 1961. (b) Edward De Bono, 1990. (c)Clive James, 1983. (d) Henry Chadwick, 1988. (e) Cesare Pavese, 1950.