Overview

"This is a collection of over 7,000 quotations, arranged thematically from ""Courage"" or ""Parliament"", to topical themes such as ""the Internet"" or ""Genetic Engineering"". The quotations that stand together in each particular theme range from the very old to the modern: both Horace and Maeve Binchy comment on the theme ""The Present"", while Desmond Morris and Jeremy Bentham give their views on the category of ""Animal Rights"". An author index (including descriptions and context lines) gives access to what is in the dictionary and provides information on each author."

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9780198602187

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Reviews

Dictionaries of quotations tend to be organized in one of two ways: either by author or by theme. Author order is better for reference, whereas a thematic arrangement encourages a good browse. From Ability (see also Achievement) to Youth (see also Children and the Generation Gap), Oxford's new dictionary farms 7000 entries in 600 fields. It might not guarantee that, like Dorothy Sayers, you 'always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking', but it might help you spice up a speech, lace a letter or clinch an argument. Some famous quotations have been omitted because they do not have an obvious theme, and some of the quotations that have been included might seem inappropriate: does the Spice Girls' Wannabe (1996) justify its place under Ambition alongside 'Do You Sincerely Want to Be Rich'? But not John Braine's 'Room At the Top'? Maybe titles don't count - but then 'Small is Beautiful' appears under Economics... This will keep you thinking and arguing for hours! Review by MARK COHEN Editor's note: Mark Cohen is the editor of 'The Penguin Thematic Dictionary of Quotations'. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Susan Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor on Quotation Dictionaries for Oxford University Press.

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