1001 Smartest Things Ever Said

The author wrote this twice :"The language of the law must not be foreign to the ear of those who are to obey it."

This is an interesting collection of quotes, and well worth reading through, but in a few cases I disagree that what was said was especially smart. For instance, Joseph Stalin saying, “One death a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic.” This is the subjective opinion of a monster, an opinion easily disagreed with, and clever, perhaps, but not smart. And Ronald Reagan saying, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” This is a conservative political stance, not a wise saying. I am sure that people suffering from a recent disaster are grateful for government help, and even children being protected from abusive parents by social workers are grateful in the long run. Certainly, the quote from Stalin is more terrifying, as is, “He may be a son-of-a-b__tch, but he’s our son-of-a-b__tch,” which has been used by our government to establish horrendous right-wing dictatorships in Latin American countries, or, ”If the president does it’s not illegal,” as Richard Nixon said, or even, ”I have a mandate from the people who elected me,“ used as an excuse by a president who was elected by a slender majority, or who is only in office because of an electoral college fluke, as a justification for enacting a policy that half of the nation finds deplorable.For the most part the quotes are smart, and it can be inspirational to read wise quotes. I had never been especially impressed by the quote from John Kennedy,”Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country, “until, I read what came before this, in which he assures that America will never “permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed . . . at home and around the world.” So what we do for America needs to be good for the world at large, if it is not, then it is not good for America.Some that I liked especially:Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others.” DostoyevskyWhat you learn from history is that you learn nothing from studying history. HegelSuccess is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. ChurchillI have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. EdisonIf you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re no doing anything very innovative. Woody AllenBelieve those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it. Andre Gide

I have loved quote books all my life and as a former teacher and writer I am always searching for unusual and unique approaches to great quotes. I recently purchased this absolutely fantastic 358 page softcover (1001 Smartest things ever said: edited and with an introduction by Steven D. Price) book on Amazon for a bargain price. This book has now become my favorite quote book in my large collection.This book has one of the best collections of great quotes from a vast group of famous and infamous people. The book is organized into six areas: Life and death and some of what happens in between, love and friendship, success, and ways to achieve it, the life of the mind, politics and politicians, and proverbial wisdom. The last section has a list of the individuals quoted in this book. The vast number of great writers, thinkers’ creative artists and statesmen quoted in this book will delight and enlighten you. The following are just a small sample you will find in this book:“The world is full of magical things waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” Bertrand Russell“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” Mark Twain“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.” Galileo GalileiIf you love quote books this one is a must have for your personal library.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Never Trust a Politician: Critical reviews of politics and politicians).

I first read this book in a friend's bathroom on Thanksgiving. Being that it was Thanksgiving, I was in for an extended bathroom stay. Texting fake holiday cheer left my phone dead. I'm a man with a limited attention span and soon my senses found themselves unsatisfied. Desperate, I found myself scouring the bathroom looking for anything to read. Then it appeared. It sat like a unicorn in the distant sunset.After a short but terrifying pants around the ankles hobble to retrieve it, I spent about 15 minutes reading this enamoring book. If it weren't for my dumb friends asking if I'd "fallen in" alongside other cliche things stupid people with full bladders say, I'd have read it cover to cover on that toilet. Ever since that day I've viewed my friend as a little bit smarter for owning this book.About a week later, I got into an argument with a friend who drops quotes like they're debate-ending nukes, I ordered this book to give him a taste of his own sad medicine. I purchased this book thinking I'd fully read it but, let's be honest, I only read it because I washed up on a lone toilet with no Wilson to talk to. But don't you worry folks, I found an even better use than reading it.This is 2017 America. It doesn't matter if you're smart. Just seem smart by owning this book. Leave this baby in your bathroom and, BOOM, people will think you're smart! This book actually turned out to be both the bees knees and the cat's meow. What?! It would've have saved my life if my adolescent fear of dying of boredom hadn't turned out to be an intricate plot by my parents. This book truly was a Thanksgiving Miracle!Long story short: Buy this book. Make people think you're smart. Pay it forward.Pro tip: Extra imaginary IQ points for folding a few pages and scribbling doodles inside

Had funny and interesting quotes

A broad collection of quotes from a wide variety of people on a wide range of subjects. This is a book to read slowly and reflectively. Excellent value for money .

A "dip-in and sample" type of book, something you can leave lying around for visitors to pass a few minutes perusing.

Smartest quotes? Nope. Not by a long shot. Great stuff, here and there, but also a lot of filler. Wrong, or poorly worded but with enough truth to be interesting? At first I thought the book was mostly that sort of filler. There was the occasional garbage quote like: "Your friends will know you better in the first moment you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a lifetime." But as the book runs on, the quotes fall in quality and repeat themselves more often. The "success" section is about 20 pages long with 70% endless variations on "You can achieve and win at anything if only you have a positive attitude." with another 20% more sanely saying things like "Let fear be a counselor and not a jailer." (Anthony Robbins) with only about 10% of the quotes providing interesting, non-repetetive thoughts. This book was not thoughtfully prepared. The three Socrates quotes really sum up this book for me: "I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." (stupid) "Be of good cheer about death and know this as a truth—that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death." (stupid) and "If all misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart." (makes you think, but really, the author believes this is one of the top 1000 smartest things ever said? Nope. Hack job.)

I've always loved a good quotation and this is full of them.

Very happy and myself learning or knowing to many excellent QUOTES of GREAT PEOPLE.Well deserved to give excellent review