The World in a Phrase: A History of Aphorisms

I purchased this book to learn more about aphorisms - examples, insights, understanding. I hoped to be entertained with numerous gems written by insightful people. Instead, I received a philosphy book from some hippy who seems to have abandoned his Christian upbringing. The man is a rebel, and I respect that, I just would not have purchased this book had he been honest enough to tell me what he was writing about.

Very interesting, and Philosophical. James Geary gives brief backgrounds on the authors and insight into their ways of thinking. Keep a dictionary close. I found this book to be an amazing vocabulary builder.

The 'Publisher's Weekly' review pretty well says it all: this man is obsessed with aphorisms (a sort of bite-sized parable). I felt like the author got in his own way, though; in his enthusiasm for the form, he filled the book with his flowery descriptions (bring your dictionary), and managed to personally contribute very little of substance. I realize that aphorisms play with language to say the absolute maximum in an absolute minimum of space, but primarily the author only manages to communicate his enthusiasm for the form. Perhaps that's the point, but I'm not sure.

James Geary explores the history and development of aphoristic expression in this useful little book, and he does so by both entertaining and informing in the way aphorisms do. His last chapter is about the Jefferson Bible, and it sums up his project very nicely. As Geary concludes in the end, "aphorisms are the elixir of life," for only they "tell it like it really is." So reading Geary's book can be like walking through a minefield populated with the most exquisite fauna, a bracing and hazardous experience that is also filled with wonder. Those who live in the warm embrace of received wisdom, and who comfort themselves with rosey reliance on conformity in thought and deed, will not enjoy this journey. But as the book points out in quoting Jenny Holzer, "playing it safe can cause a lot of damage in the long run." Reading this book now after having read many of the authors Geary surveys, and having learned to my delight of those unknown to me, I was encouraged to press on in my own way of thinking, to stop doubting myself. There is not a self-help book in the world that will bully you into your sense the way Nietzsche or Chamfort can with an absolute economy of words. Geary's book was such a breath of fresh air, especially in this age of spin and lies, because he brings the reader face to face with those who spoke directly without apology about the truth of the human condition.

This book was amazing! Not only did it include quirky, enlightening, and thought-prokoking aphorisms, but it also gave a background about the writer of the aphorisms too. needless to say, this has sent me on numerous tangents wanting to learn more. I have bought four or five other books since based on what I read here. I'm sure I will be reading this one over and over again. Couldn't reccommend it enough.