Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook282 pages4 hours
The World in a Phrase
By James Geary
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Starting with the ancient Chinese and ending with contemporary Europeans and Americans, The World in a Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through spirited and amusing biographies of some of its greatest practitioners, including Emily Dickinson, and Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker; great French aphorists like Montaigne, La Rochefoucauld, and Chamfort; philosophers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein; as well as prophets and sages like the Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Jesus. In our modern age, The World in a Phrase explores how aphorisms still retain the power to instigate and inspire, enlighten and enrage, entertain and edify.
James Geary is the author of The Body Electric: An Anatomy of the New Bionic Senses. He lives in London with his wife and three children.
"James Geary's celebration of the smallest-and sometimes wisest-of literary forms. Geary defines the characteristics of aphorisms and discusses their history and their role in his life, and shares the work of renowned aphorists from Buddha to Dr. Seuss."-Associated Press
James Geary is the author of The Body Electric: An Anatomy of the New Bionic Senses. He lives in London with his wife and three children.
"James Geary's celebration of the smallest-and sometimes wisest-of literary forms. Geary defines the characteristics of aphorisms and discusses their history and their role in his life, and shares the work of renowned aphorists from Buddha to Dr. Seuss."-Associated Press
Unavailable
Author
James Geary
James Geary is the author of four previous books, including the New York Times bestseller The World in a Phrase, and is the deputy curator at Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism. A sought-after speaker and avid juggler, he lives near Boston, Massachusetts.
Read more from James Geary
I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Corrupted into Song: The Complete Poems of Alvin Feinman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The World in a Phrase
Related ebooks
Stories, Etc.: Selected Short Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChance or the Dance?: A Critique of Modern Secularism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The You That All Along Has Housed You: A Sequence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Blackhearted Saint Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCanaäd Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPreoccupations: Selected Prose, 1968-1978 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lilith: A Romance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Scholar's Tale: Intellectual Journey of a Displaced Child of Europe Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Words Are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mind Parasites Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nothing Remains the Same: Rereading and Remembering Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Autobiography Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5World Travel Tales: True Stories of Travel, Trouble and Transformation - France, Greece and India Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWonderful Investigations: Essays, Meditations, Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Say My Poetry Lacks Spice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTolstoy Lied: A Love Story Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Experiencing Sacredness: A Psycho-Spiritual Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Secret Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Road to Ithaka: A Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hasheesh Eater Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In My Own Way: An Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5About Mountain Living: Finding a Way Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDepartures: From The Story Sessions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rock Pool Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Quotes That Will Change Your Life: A Currated Collection of Mind-Blowing Wisdom Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Story of Seven Summers: Life at the Nuns' House Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Instigator of Joy: Becoming My Own Fairy Godmother Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Games & Activities For You
Bored Games: 100+ In-Person and Online Games to Keep Everyone Entertained Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5101 Fun Personality Quizzes: Who Are You . . . Really?! Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best F*cking Activity Book Ever: Irreverent (and Slightly Vulgar) Activities for Adults Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Everything Lateral Thinking Puzzles Book: Hundreds of Puzzles to Help You Think Outside the Box Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Big Book of Nature Activities: A Year-Round Guide to Outdoor Learning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How To Beat Anyone At Chess: The Best Chess Tips, Moves, and Tactics to Checkmate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nightingale: A Novel by Kristin Hannah | Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Draw Anything Anytime: A Beginner's Guide to Cute and Easy Doodles (Over 1,000 Illustrations) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr | Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Best Bar Trivia Book Ever: All You Need for Pub Quiz Domination Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSerial Killer Trivia: Fascinating Facts and Disturbing Details That Will Freak You the F*ck Out Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of English Magic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners: The Tactics Workbook that Explains the Basic Concepts, Too Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/530 Interactive Brainteasers to Warm Up your Brain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Card Games: The Complete Rules to the Classics, Family Favorites, and Forgotten Games Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kokology 2: More of the Game of Self-Discovery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self-Working Card Tricks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into the Dungeon: A Choose-Your-Own-Path Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chess: Chess Masterclass Guide to Chess Tactics, Chess Openings & Chess Strategies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (Trivia-On-Books) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (Trivia-On-Books) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStar Wars: Book of Lists Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoyle's Rules of Games - Descriptions of Indoor Games of Skill and Chance, with Advice on Skillful Play Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everyone's First Chess Workbook: Fundamental Tactics and Checkmates for Improvers – 738 Practical Exercises Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The World in a Phrase
Rating: 3.6818181818181817 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
22 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book interested me because I too am a collector of aphorisms. This entertaining little book offers lots of good sayings and interesting anecdotes.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I've said it before: I'm a big ol' word nerd. So of course this book on the history of the aphorism appealed to me. It turned out to be even better than I expected. In addition to defining and giving wonderful examples of aphorisms, this little volume provides a brief history of philosophy as well. Beginning with Lao-Tzu and Confucius, and progressing to modern poets and activists, Geary leads us through a history of thinkers and provides us with some of their most powerful words. I'm going to hold on to this book because I believe I'll want to refer to it again. For such a small book, it holds a great deal of fascinating information!
2 people found this helpful