Books like Words to live by by Charles Panati

A series of spiritual exercises for leading a meaningful life, 2,000 years old and still relevant today.

A curated anthology of moral tales from the Bible, Greek mythology, American history, and modern fiction designed to teach children and adults the virtues of responsibility, courage, compassion, honesty, friendship, persistence, and faith.

A compilation of many thoroughly researched facts about common objects in our lives today.

Leo Durocher is best remembered for saying, "Nice guys finish last." He never said it. What the Brooklyn Dodgers' manager did say, before a 1946 game with the New York Giants, was: "The nice guys are all over there. In seventh place." Durocher's words lacked pop. Sportswriters perked them up, and gave America one of its most familiar misquotations. Ralph Keyes points out in "Nice Guys Finish Seventh" that many of our best-known sayings, phrases, and quotations are. Inaccurate, misattributed, or both. During two decades of research, he discovered that: "Any man who hates dogs and children can't be all bad" was said about W.C. Fields, not by him; "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" was the slogan of UCLA coach Red Sanders, not Vince Lombardi; "The opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" was adapted from an old saying: "Church ain't out 'til the fat lady sings"; and Winston Churchill did not originate the phrase "iron. Curtain," and never said, "blood, sweat and tears." Hundreds of such examples illustrate Keyes's Immutable Law of Misquotation: Misquotes drive out real quotes. "Certain things demand to be said," he writes, "said in a certain way, and by the right person. Whether such comments are accurate is beside the point." Keyes confirms that William Tecumseh Sherman didn't say, "War is hell." Nor did he vow, "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve." According. To Keyes, such words voice observations we want made. Freud may never have said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," for example, but we certainly wish he had. For a misquote to become familiar it must come from a well-known mouth. Take "You can't trust anyone over thirty." Abbie Hoffman, right? Or was it Jerry Rubin? Mario Salvo? Mark Rudd? All have been given credit for this sixties catchphrase. Keyes discovered that its real originator was a student named Jack. Weinberg. Remember him? Few do. That's why Weinberg's words were assigned to better-known mouths. Keyes calls this "the flypaper effect." Orphan quotes or comments by unknowns routinely stick to a Churchill, a Lincoln, or a Twain. Other syndromes Keyes discusses include bumper-stickering (condensing a long comment to make it more quotable), lip-syncing (mouthing someone else's words as if they were your own), and retroquoting (putting words in the mouths of famous dead. People). Separate chapters focus on misquotes in history, politics, show business, sports, literature, and academia. "Nice Guys Finish Seventh" is a pleasure to read. It's also a first-rate argument-settler. By exhaustively researching the true origins of famous sayings, Ralph Keyes has produced a provocative, authoritative guide to who actually said what.

Here is a treasury of 108 short selections from the best-selling books of Pema Chödrön, the beloved Buddhist nun.

Desiderius Erasmus's "Adages" is a monumental collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, each accompanied by his commentary, offering insights into classical culture, language, Erasmus's own views on the world. Key aspects of Erasmus's "Adagia": Erasmus aimed to preserve and promote the wisdom of the classical world through its proverbs, customs, and Social institutions. The collection contains over 3,000 entries, tracing the origins of each adage and providing commentary on its meaning and usage. "Adagia" was a foundational work in the Renaissance and helped to popularize classical learning and humanist thought. Many of the proverbs cited by Erasmus are still in common usage today, such as "Know thyself; To give someone the finger; and "Pandora's box". The commentaries in the "Adagia" reflect Erasmus's opinions on the world of his day, blending his satirical and evangelical writings. The work was influential in shaping the landscape and is still studied today. Erasmus expanded his Adagia while in Venice at the celebrated printing house of Aldus Manutius. The adage "Dutch ear"(auras Batava) is one of many hints that he was not an uncritical admire of sophisticated Italy, with its theatrical sermons and its scholars who doubted the immortality of the soul; his aim was to write for honest and unassuming "Dutch ears;