The Yale Book of Quotations

The Yale Book of Quotations. Edited by Fred R. Shapiro. Yale University Press, 1,104 pp., $50.00.

While this book of quotations stands on the shoulders of standards in the field--The Oxford Book of Quotations and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations--it is distinctly more American. The sources for its quotes include not just American literature but also pop culture (from Bob Dylan to Tupac Shakur), and it has sections on advertising slogans and film. Still, Samuel Johnson and William Shakespeare have two of the longest sections, outdone only by the Bible. Unfortunately, other than quotations from the Bible and the Qur'an, religion is underrepresented. Nonetheless, this is a useful resource for writers, speakers and preachers who can often identify with Dorothy Sayers's sentiment: "I always have a quotation for everything--it saves original thinking."

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