Quotations Books

This is a wonderful book that I love giving as a gift but I can't find it anywhere any more. Please reprint it!

Fresh and original, "Inscriptions of a Nation" fills a hole in history and travel books. This slim volume contains the inscriptions on Washington, D.C.'s major monuments and memorials. The author, Clint Ensign, prefaces each featured memorial with a brief synopsis of the monument and why it or the person it commemorates is significant to our history. However, the book's main purpose is to present the inscriptions on these memorials.

By truly reading and understanding these passages, the purposes of the memorials become even clearer. Usually, a tourist doesn't have time to appreciate the wisdom and strength of Abraham Lincoln's words when confronted by his massive memorial, but careful study of the quotations leads to understanding that a monument is more than a massive statue, but rather a tribute to an idea.

Ensign admits this is not a comprehensive work, but the prominent monuments as of 1994 are featured here. This book sorely needs to be updated and put back in print.

This is an excellent book, if you are in need of a boost to get yourself going. It has served as very inspirational for myself and literally helped me accomplish projects and tasks that I didn't believe I could. I passed it along to my younger brother to help inspire him and I now miss it enough that I am ordering another copy. I highly recommend this book.

It takes just one seed to grow a tree. And if it is so, why do we tend to think that we are to read volumes to transform our thinking and our life? There are few quotations of this book - but each one is a pearl of great price. Each one is worthy of our close attention. They are not to be taken lightly. Men and women who expressed those thoughts were uncommon achievers - and so can be you, if you will apply their wisdom. Woodrow Wilson said: "I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow". And I'm confident that reading of such a book is a good way to borrow other's brains.

This Journal is calm, and peaceful, and a perfect gift for the woman journal keeper(s) in your life. The quotes are quiet and thought provoking.
Many of my friends will be getting this book soon.

This is the perfect journal... Compact in size yet very elegant. The quotations are beautiful and inspiring. I consider this my fisrt experience purchasing a journal on-line very positive and will try all her other journals once I am done with this one....

Not too precious or icky-sweet, this book will nevertheless make you melt. The pictures say it all. The quotes are nice to go back later and read, because you'll want to look at all the pictures right away.

Wonderfully compiled by Bonnie Louise Keller (writer, animal lover, daughter of two professional photographers, wife, and mother of two now grown children), Just Dads: Nerves Of Steel, Wills Of Iron, Hearts Of Pudding is a treasure of quotes that capture the essence of fatherhood. Each quote is paired with a beautiful photograph of animal fathers in the wild looking after their young, and a caption of the duties that animal father assumes in the care, feeding, and protection of its little one. A superb giftbook for Father's Day, Just Dads makes for heartwarming, highly recommended browsing. Also very highly recommended is the superb companion book, "Just Moms."

I don't know who enjoyed this book more, the children or the adults. Everyone we have shared this book with can relate to the feelings of the children interviewed. It reminds adults of what it's like to be a child and shows children that they are not alone in their thoughts.

A fabulous book that I am happy to have stumbled upon. I will keep checking for more work by Thomas Baldrick.

Kids Rule is a great vision of the hopes and dreams of kids today. It is sometimes funny and sometimes sad, and it will leave you feeling that there is hope for the world that has such thoughtful kids in it.

This is a tastefully done album on the subject of the 'kiss'. The visual examples are not vulgar. The quotations are a delight and make for enjoyable easy reading. A page- turner.
Here are a few examples of the wisdom cited in the book.

" A kiss something you cannot give without taking, or take without giving." ( Anonymous)

"Soul meets soul in lover's kisses" ( Shelley)

" The Universe exists in a kiss, hangs on the hold of a kiss. (Zalman Shneour)

The book is without deep or prolonged philosophical consideration of the meaning of different kinds of 'kisses'.
The kisses in question are 'romantic kisses' of usually young man and woman.

There are not in this book the kisses of a mother for a child, or at the other end of life, the parting kiss at the closing of the eyes of one leaving the world.
This book is thus for those whose mind and hearts are in 'romantic love' for the young in spirit primarily.

I was given a copy of this book years ago and some of the quotes within still stay with me even though the book is now miles away. Quotes from people such as Byron and Rossetti, even accommodating certain lines from Casablanca, as well as art from people such as Klimt makes this a beautiful gift for either man or woman. Some quotes are touching, some funny, and all capture different aspects of the affection and warmth conveyed by the pursing of our lips and making a kind of sucking motion... which as the book tells us, should be done in contact with someone, otherwise you could just be calling a horse! A real pleasure to read and raises a smile throughout

As theologian Abraham Heschel has said, "God's voice speaks in many languages, communicating itself in a diversity of intuitions. The word of God never comes to an end. No word is God's last word."

In his second book on the spiritual life, "Knowing Without Words," author John McQuiston is the first to acknowledge that he has undertaken a daunting task, the use of words to represent ultimate reality. His introduction cautions that we tend to forget that words are merely man-made symbols, and that in attempting to use them to express the inexpressible we run the risk of idolatry, of falling into the worship of our own religion.

Having thus taken note of the pitfalls, McQuiston proceeds to serve up an impressive collection of efforts by a pantheon of religious and secular sages to express the reality that lies beyond the power of language. The book is divided into eight sections dealing with attempts to speak about ultimately indefinable themes such as the nature of God, the search for meaning, forgiveness, and death. With commendable humility, McQuiston's own thoughts are limited to a short but illuminating introduction at the beginning of each chapter.

The author's erudition is readily apparent in the breadth of the sources represented, which range from the Bible, to the Bhagavad Gita, to the Tao Te Ching. They include the reflections of scientists, poets, mystics, and philosophers including T.S. Elliot, Shakespeare, Meister Eckhart, Annie Dillard, and the Dalai Lama. One recurring source is the 1662 version of the Anglican "Book of Common Prayer." (McQuiston, an attorney, explains that this edition was selected because it is no longer protected by copyright law.) This wide-ranging cross-cultural approach eloquently reminds us of the truth of John Donne's observation that "God employs many translators," and that attempts to express the inexpressible are universal and not limited to the Judeo-Christian tradition.

"Knowing Without Words" is a beautifully crafted book, appropriately spare and austere in its design. One of McQuiston's achievements is the imaginative pairing of contrasting and complementary reflections from disparate sources arranged on facing pages. The layout makes use of generous amounts of empty "white space" which encourages the reader to pause between successive images and suggests that a higher reality lies beyond the words. This is important; one needs to pause in the face of a startling observation such as Paul Tillich's that "God does not exist. He is being itself, beyond essence and existence. Therefore to argue that God exists is to deny him."

Unlike so many popular works on "spirituality," McQuiston's book offers no easy shortcuts to enlightenment. It is unlikely to appeal to the reader who finds comfort in a formulaic approach to religion or the conviction that truth is the exclusive province of a single tradition. But for the individual who can accept the ambiguity of metaphor, who values the full breadth of human experience, and who takes seriously the search for meaning in life, "Knowing Without Words" is a work to be treasured. Its rediscovery of the spirit that lies behind traditional religious images and its unexpected juxtaposition of familiar and unfamiliar sources make for lively reading and sustained reflection. McQuiston himself sums up this search for better metaphors for the sacred. "If we no longer think of God as `out there' or `up there,' we may look `within us' or `between us.'"

one of the many exquisite and prayerful quotes from spiritual masters in this brilliant book:

"Almighty God, bestow upon us the meaning of words, the light of understanding, the nobility of diction and the faith of the true nature. And grant that what we believe we may also speak." ---Saint Hilary.

Lawyers don't talk like this. Lawyers do not write like this. Yet McQuiston writes from the heart, as he prays, and sees the limitations of words, and their profound value. He uses words not as lawyers use them for deceitful advantage, but as he has received them from those who seek to convey truth, the eternal verities, in the incomplete package and broken basket of human words. Therefore he labels each of his chapter meditations as "Attempts" only, knowing the frailty of our words.

McQuiston is extraordinary, a holy lawyer, a careful writer with something of profound value to write, for us to read. He has also written a wonderful meditation on the Benedictine life called Always We Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living, and are we not truly blessed and grateful when we receive that opportunity to begin once more after falling so very many times?

Here McQuiston writes of our many attempts in life, to know and to follow our God, the God of Love who wishes peace for all creation. Thus we see each chapter entitled first with the words "Attempts to speak of . . ." the nature of God, creating joy, search for meaning, giving, prayer and meditation, forgiveness, humility, death . . .

Lawyers are not known to speak of such things. Humility? Yet McQuiston does so brilliantly, humbly, prayerfully, with generous quotes from our Saints and others which serve well to illuminate rather than conceal. When McQuiston humbly realizes his own failure to communicate he turns for authority and clarity to the great saints past and present, the RUle of Saint Benedict, to our Holy Scripture, often the Letter from James, and, oftener, to our Book of Common Prayer, as in: "Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, That the words that we have heard this day with our outward ears, May through thy grace be so grafted inwardly in our hearts, That they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living."

This book attempts to tell us what that good living means, and serves thus a powerful role for meditation and prayer. It finally serves to assist us in encountering through our Faith that final mystery of death, remembering with the Book of Common Prayer "Death is swallowed up in victory; Oh death, where is thy sting?"

Where have you ever found a lawyer to write and to pray such as this? Where have you ever found a lawyer so helpful on our fragile human journey? Read this book of prayer and receive gratefully the aid of a mighty advocate.

What a lovely book of poems, poetry & excerpts! Definitely a great gift idea. LOVE IT!

This beautifully presented book contains a delightful horde of others' perspectives on (obviously!) happiness. From quotes of Lord Byron and Thomas Jefferson to an Irish blessing, this book is a pleasure to read. Not only is it inspirational in providing guidance for finding your own true happiness mantra, it is also a valuable resource when looking for "just the right words" to brighten someone else's day. If you buy no other book this year, purchase this one. And while you are at it, buy one for someone close to you and find joy in sharing "The Language of Happiness".

This book is most interesting... a book that can be read during brief free moments (or, in other words, a great bathroom book!). Extensive research has been done and documented and the book includes an equal spattering of both the Saints and the Sinners..... It is a very profound book also when you appreciate the fact that you are invited to share the last moments of these lives. Certainly gave me an additional opportunity to pray for all the poor souls who have left this world. I would highly recommend this book....

Thigpen, an editor and journalist, has gathered hundreds of "last" or nearly last utterances attributed to individuals from the time of Jesus to the twenty-first century representing every walk of life. No one would argue that this is a book to be sampled, but it is much more than that. Thigpen offers a coherent resource that gives even the casual browser something to think about. Each of the 19 thematic chapters opens with a quotation from scripture and brief introduction. All "last words" quotations contain a brief statement identifying the person and circumstances.

The chapter entitled "No One Will Take Your Joy" quotes John 16:22 and begins with a little history of St. Thomas More, "a first-class joker," who carried his sense of humor to the gallows. Thigpen notes that "a finely tuned sense of humor is often the distinguishing mark of clear vision." Taking the will of God seriously, he suggests, allows us to take everything else, even death, lightly. In addition to humor, Thigpen addresses such topics as wisdom, detachment, forgiveness, and concern for those left behind.

This work could easily be adapted for use by faith-sharing groups. Members might select a topic, and, after reading the chapter, reflect on the theme and discuss quotations that were meaningful to them and the insights they gained.

This is an amazing book. I have read several biographies about T. E. Lawrence that deal mostly with his campaign in the Middle East and his life in the ranks. What a surprise to meet Lawrence , the sensitive man of letters, in this well documented book which, by the way, is not a biography. Lawrence's criticism of famous and less known writers and poets never leave you indifferent.I highly recommend it to readers who are interested in literature and who, like me, believe that T.E. Lawrence was a far more profound man than "Lawrence of Arabia".

Okay, so I haven't actually read the book, but there haven't yet been any reviews and so it might be useful to provide something which fills the space. I do know, however, that Mr. Orlans is my uncle, and so I have at least some idea of the care, work, and time that went into writing this book. It's probably well-done and worth reading.