Book details

'The Worcestershire Sauce of conversation.' Stephen Fry A really good quotation book - one which gathered the truest and funniest insights of the best minds, and organised them into more than 400 subjects, from ambition to worry (or from artichokes to windows) - a book which offered you a useful take on almost every situation life throws at you (from the death of your child's hamster to the unified theory of everything), a sourcebook of wise one-liners, of knock-out jokes, of drole asides and heartfelt statements of truth and beauty, a practical handbook of interestingness, well, that would be worth having. And, guess what? Those thoughtful gentlemen at QI have come up with one. As well as the quotes themselves, there is a Prologue from the Bantermaster himself, Mr Stephen Fry, and lots of quite interesting background information on the people quoted (and misquoted). Six years of learning how to avoid the dull stuff have left the QI team in a uniquely good position to deliver this elusive holy grail: the big, useful, funny and really very good book of quotations.

John Lloyd is the founder of QI and the producer of some of Britain's best-loved TV shows. He is of the same opinion as Plato: unmitigated seriousness has no place in human affairs. On the other hand, he also likes A. N. Whitehead's assertion that it's more important for something to interesting than true (although it's more likely to be interesting if it is true). John Mitchinson is Director of Research for QI. He can regularly be heard muttering Niels Bohr's line about paradox being a sign of progress. He also shares the dilemma of Dr Johnson's friend Oliver Johnson: he tries hard to be a philosopher but cheerfulness keeps breaking in. If you fancy a spot of interesting banter, join the QI elves at www. qi. com (although bear in mind J. R. R. Tolkien's advice: 'Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no').