Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes

by Clifton Fadiman

A book compiled of anecdotes from other collections, arranged under the name of the person they're about.

Genres: Reference, History, Nonfiction, Writing, Literature, Humor, Biography

2142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1985

About the author

Clifton Paul "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Classical figures prized their anecdotes as narrative condensations of generally acknowledged truths. That the paths of glory lead but to the grave was pointed out by Thomas Gray in 1751. But the sobering truism was more vividly expressed by Diogenes in explaining to Alexander the Great why he was examining a heap of human bones: “I am searching for the bones of your father, but I cannot distinguish them from those of his slaves.” No great wit here, certainly no shock of surprise, yet a telling early statement of a universal insight."


"An assiduous reading of anecdotes can, then, light up odd corners of the past that we should all recognize. But it can, far more valuably, shake us out of our quotidian rut, administer a slight and salutary shock of surprise or delight. At its finest, an anecdote signalizes the intervention of the unexpected. It mounts a small-scale assault on the banality of normal intercourse."

Obviously, Fadiman believes he is offering this to his fellow illuminati not to the hoi polloi. But I was delighted with what I found in the book including:

"ANTHONY, Susan B. (1820–1906), US reformer. For more than fifty-seven years she lectured and campaigned for women’s suffrage and temperance. “You are not married,” the well-known abolitionist Samuel May once said to Susan Anthony. “You have no business to be discussing marriage.” “You, Mr. May, are not a slave,” she retorted. “Suppose you quit lecturing on slavery.”"

"ABERCROMBIE, Lascelles (1881–1938), British poet and critic. He was professor of English literature at Leeds (1922–29) and London (1929–35) universities. His works include Principles of English Prosody (1922) and Twelve Idylls (1928). 1 Abercrombie had expressed an opinion with which the poet Ezra Pound violently disagreed. “Dear Mr. Abercrombie,” wrote Pound. “Stupidity carried beyond a certain point becomes a public menace. I hereby challenge you to a duel, to be fought at the earliest moment that is suited to your convenience.…” Abercrombie was rather disturbed by the challenge, knowing of Pound’s skill at fencing, but then he remembered with relief that the choice of weapons lay with the party challenged. “May I suggest,” he replied, “that we bombard each other with unsold copies of our own books?” Pound, having far more “weapons” than his opponent, immediately withdrew the challenge."

"John Quincy Adams, an enthusiastic swimmer, used to bathe naked in the Potomac before starting the day’s work. The newspaper woman Anne Royall had been trying for weeks to get an interview with the president and had always been turned away. One morning she tracked him to the river bank and after he had got into the water stationed herself on his clothes. When Adams returned from his swim, he found a very determined lady awaiting him. She introduced herself and stated her errand. “Let me get out and dress,” pleaded the president, “and I swear you shall have your interview.” Anne Royall was adamant; she wasn’t moving until she had the president’s comment on the questions she wished to put to him. If he attempted to get out, she would scream loud enough to reach the ears of some fishermen on the next bend in the river. She got her interview while Adams remained decently submerged in the water. {Anne Royall, often called the first American newspaperwoman, led an adventurous life that veered from luxury to great poverty. John Quincy Adams was among her close friends.}"

"In the fight film Rocky II, a character apparently based on Muhammad Ali taunts the hero with the words “I’ll destroy you. I am the master of disaster.” After seeing a private screening of the film, Ali wistfully remarked, “‘Master of disaster’: I wish I’d thought of that!”

Just before takeoff on an airplane flight, the stewardess reminded Ali to fasten his seat belt. “Superman don’t need no seat belt,” replied Ali. “Superman don’t need no airplane, either,” retorted the stewardess. Ali fastened his belt."

4

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my desert island book. I've read this too many times, always straight through. Hang out with all the great personalities of western history, but only for those 5 minute periods when they are funniest or at their most interesting. My hard copy has rings from the beer cans placed upon it, has fallen into a pool, and I plan on handing it down to my first born. If he does not appreciate it, I will beat him over the head with it as it is hard cover and weighty. I sniped this from my father's bookshelf when home from college 14 years ago, I guess he used it never or once when he had to make a speech or something.

[Joy H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Added 4/4/10.
Edit 4/24/13:
Below is a terrific anecdote from the book:
==================================
"The abbe was asked if he believed in hell. He replied:
'Yes, because it is a dogma of the church - but I don't believe anyone is in it.'"
-From _The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes_, p. 415, re: Abbe Arthur Mugnier (1853-1944), French divine.
==================================

It's fun to browse through this book. It's a wonderful collection.

[Wordweaverlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anecdotes, lousy transfer to ebook

An amusing compendium of stories about (mostly) famous people. The tales range from the ridiculous to the inspirational, and the people from classical Greece to the contemporary USA. However, the book is painfully marred by a lack of proofreading. When the print edition was scanned, the OCR misread the ligature for "rt" as "n," turning art into an and parties into panies. There are other serious typos, presumably from the same cause. That cost the ebook one star.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is neither little, nor brown. It does have anecdotes, though.

[Corben Laidler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lifetime of knowledge distilled into one funny little book. I love this thing.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I've had on my shelves since the mid-80's and decided I might as well read it. Even though some of the anecdotes are apocryphal, they're still interesting and often quite funny. It's also a good jumping-off point for Googling more information on some of the more intriguing people and incidents mentioned.

[Avis Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only book of anecdotes you'll ever need to buy. It's filled with first-rate stuff, and you can spend ages reading it. It's the ultimate collection.

Available at Open Library:
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16477...

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite reference books.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lotta fun.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories about historical people.