"In 1855 a well-known bookseller from Cambridge, Massachusetts, named John Bartlett self-published A Collection of Familiar Quotations, a book of prose and verse quotes, which he described as "an attempt to trace to their source passages and phrases in common use." That small volume of lasting wisdom has been continuously expanded and published since then and has become the comprehensive, authoritative, and popular bible of quotations fondly known as Bartlett's.

Long an indispensable wellspring of inspiration for writers, toastmasters, students, executives, speechwriters, and copywriters, Bartlett's is the best choice for those who want to find the perfect quote to polish a presentation, enrich a narrative, add zest to a celebratory toast, pepper a conversation, or answer the question "Who said that?"".

"Bartlett's carries on its early tradition of drawing on classic references. However, since it mirrors our ever changing culture, it also uses many nontraditional sources for quotations, including movies, television, advertising slogans, cartoons, street slang, politics, and music.

From the Bible to Bill Clinton, from Sappho to Sitting Bull, from Shakespeare to Seinfeld, from the Upanishads to Updike, Bartlett's spans almost 3,000 years of art, politics, science, religion, and entertainment and gives us a vast written panorama of our world."--BOOK JACKET.