The World in a Phrase, 2nd Edition
A Brief History of the Aphorism, Second Edition
$32.02
- Paperback
320 pages
- Release Date
2 November 2025
Summary
Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world.
Aphorisms are literature’s hand luggage. Light and compact, they contain everything you need to get through a rough day at the office or a dark night of the soul. Aphorisms, the oldest written art form on the planet, have been going viral for thousands of years, delivering the short, sharp shock o…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780226838601 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0226838609 |
| Author: | James Geary |
| Publisher: | The University of Chicago Press |
| Imprint: | University of Chicago Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 320 |
| Edition: | 2nd |
| Release Date: | 2 November 2025 |
| Weight: | 313g |
| Dimensions: | 23mm x 140mm x 216mm |
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Critics Review
“An accessible and funny guide to millennia of aphorisms.” * The Irish Examiner *
“Aphorisms aren’t just historical artifacts. People regularly come up with new ones, and even if they haven’t come from the pen of Confucius or Emily Dickinson, they can shed light on the modernhuman experience with just a few words… . The bestselling book… contains a chunk of Geary’s collection, ranging from the ancient world to today, along with explanations of the history and significance of each phrase. And while the classics still serve their purpose, modern aphorisms help guide us through the endless digital, cultural and political upheaval that is life in 2025.”
* The Guardian *“Probably the definitive work on aphorisms… . [F]ellow fanatics will be delighted.” – Publishers Weekly, on the first edition
“A delight… . [The World in a Phrase] offers extraordinary phrases that any lover of the prickly thought and the graceful sentence can savor.”
– The New York Sun, on the first edition
“[An] entertaining love letter to the compact form.”
– The New York Times, on the first edition
“It is impossible not to be swept along with Geary’s enthusiasm.” – The Times Literary Supplement, on the first edition
“Geary serves up old favorit[e] [aphorists]… . But he has also rustled up phrase-makers who are undeservedly forgotten.” – The Washington Post, on the first edition
James Geary
James Geary, an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, is the author of Wit’s End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It, I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World, and Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists, among other books. He likes to juggle.
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