Book Description
"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 MaughamYou 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.Free CD Included


About the Author
John M. Shanahan is a true Renaissance man. He is the creator of the nationally acclaimed reading program Hooked on Phonics, and original syndicator of the number one talk radio show in America. This highly successful entrepreneur is also an accomplished composer, gourmet chef, and collector of antique automobiles and historic documents. John and his wife, Alice, have three grown children Julie, John, and Sean.


Excerpted from The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time : (In Two Lines or Less) by John M. Shanahan. Copyright © 1999. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Chapter One ExcerptsWit makes its own welcome and levels all distinctions. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882He who is most creative conceals his sources the best. -- AnonymousWe are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us. -- Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784The graveyards are full of indispensable men. -- Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970To think is to say no. -- Linde Auguste Chartier, 1868-1951When we ask advice we are usually looking for an accomplice. -- Charles Varlet Marquis de La Grange, 1639-1692If you don't bring Paris with you, you won't find it there. -- John M. Shanahan, 1939--Clever liars give details, but the cleverest don't -- AnonymousThe opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting. -- Fran Lebowitz, 1950--Nobody forgets where he buried the hatchet. -- rank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard, 1868-1930It is a golden rule not to judge men by their opinions but rather by what their opinions make of them. -- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, 1742-1799Have a care, therefore, where there is more sail than ballast. -- William Penn, 1644-1718Fortune does not change men; it unmasks them. -- Suzanne Necker, 1739-1794The wicked are always surprised to find that the good can be clever. -- Luc de Clapiers de Vauvenargues, 1715-1747Our years, our debts, and our enemies are always more numerous than we imagine. -- Charles Nodier, 1780-1844Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him. -- Aldous Leonard Huxley 1894-1963You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. -- Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983Only dead fish swim with the stream. -- AnonymousAll the people like us are We, and everyone else is They. -- Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936When the fight begins within himself, a man's worth something. -- Robert Browning, 1812-1889When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet deep down in his heart no man much respects himself -- Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens], 1835-1910

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Talkers are no good doers."— William Shakespeare

"The height of cleverness is to be able to conceal it."— Franois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld

"It is hard to believe a man is telling you the truth when you knowyou 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 foranyone 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.