I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like: A Comprehensive Compilation of History's Greatest Analogies, Metaphors, and Similes | 
 enlarge | Author: Mardy Grothe
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 1760
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 5.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061358134
Dewey Decimal Number: 080
EAN: 9780061358135
ASIN: 0061358134
Publication Date: August 1, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
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Product Description
The murals in restaurants are on a par with the food in museums. America is an enormous frosted cupcake in the middle of millions of starving people. Critics are like pigs at the pastry cart.
Describing something by relating it to another thing is the essence of metaphorical thought. It is one of the oldest activities of humankind—and one of the most impressive when done skillfully. Throughout history, many masters of metaphor have crafted observations that are so spectacular they have taken up a permanent residence in our minds. In I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like, quotation maven Dr. Mardy Grothe fixes his attention on the three superstars of figurative language—analogies, metaphors, and similes. The result is an extraordinary compilation of nearly 2,000 feats of association that will entertain, educate, and occasionally inspire quotation lovers everywhere. In this intellectual smorgasbord, the author of Oxymoronica and Viva la Repartee explains figurative language in a refreshingly down-to-earth way before taking readers on a tour of history's greatest word pictures. In chapters on wit, love, sex, stage and screen, insults, politics, sports, and more, you will find quotations from Aristotle and Maya Angelou to George Washington and Oprah Winfrey.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like August 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a terrific Book! I have been a fan of Dr Grothe for a long time and now I have such a great collection of his wisdom and humor. Recommended to anyone who is in speaking, teaching or who wants to be enlighted themselves! I am each of those and find it a great resource. You will too!
another of Mardy Grothe's joyful romps with tropes August 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
With "i never metaphor i didn't like" [sic] Dr. Mardy Grothe once again succeeds in deriving both amusement and plenty of food-for-thought from the nuances of figures of speech-this time from metaphor, simile, and analogy. This is another of his books worthy of multiple browsings for examples of linguistic wit, wisdom, pathos, and bathos thoughtfully arranged by subject. Dr. Grothe intersperses the quotations with background information, anecdotes, and reference linkages that enhance the reader's enjoyment and make the book more than just a list of quotations. I've thoroughly perused all of his figure-of-speech books, and I'm sure this one will wind up as well thumbed as his others on my shelf.
His introduction provides a quick brush-up on the characteristics of analogies, metaphors, and similes that is bright and readable without being tedious. And his index by author will be appreciated by anyone seeking specific who-said-whats that are scattered among various topics.
Mardy triumphs again in showing the feedback loop by which our language influences our thoughts and our thoughts influence our language.
A National Treasure! August 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mardy Grothe is a national treasure and so are his books. I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like lives up to Mardy Grothe's platinum standard of wit, wisdom and insight.
It is absolutely amazing that one man has such a comprehensive collections of quotes. It is even more amazing that he has them well-organized into topics. However, the presentation of each quote, painted into a context and story is nothing short of sheer delight.
I am a big fan of Mardy, his books and his "Dr. Mardy's Quotes of the Week" e-newsletter (drmardy.com). If it seems that I might be overstating and exaggerating, then I welcome the reader to purchase a copy in a failed attempt to prove me wrong!
Mardy's Done It Again August 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I never met a Mardy Grothe book I didn't like. And "I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like" is certainly no exception. In his Introduction, the author describes himself as "a serious quotation collector," and in this newest of his four books, containing nearly 2,000 analogies, metaphors and similes, he provides indisputable evidence of that fact. He has indeed delivered what he promises in the book's subtitle: "A Comprehensive Compilation of History's Greatest Analogies, Metaphors, and Similes."
However, "I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like" is far more than simply a collection of quotations. In his own highly readable, entertaining and informative style, the author tells often fascinating stories behind many of the entries.
I can't imagine any word lover not wanting this delightful volume in his or her library. But be advised! This is not a book to be devoured in one, two or even in a dozen readings. In what he calls his attempt "to compile some of history's greatest word paintings," Mardy Grothe has succeeded beautifully. To fully admire and appreciate these "paintings" will take time, but it will indeed be time very well spent.
What Makes Your Language Live August 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like: A Comprehensive Compilation of History's Greatest Analogies, Metaphors, and Similes
Tired of political platitudes, a mundane media, and the dense jargon of appliance instructions? Want to read language that lives? Want to borrow colorful quotes for your amorous boudoir, your senior center, or your favorite bar for drinks mixed with insults? Then this is your book. You can sprinkle the sparkle of these quotations through any kind of conversation -- from sports to the theatre, and the realm that touches them both - marriage and the family. You can even double up that annoying individual with a habit of being funnier than you are. There's a chapter for every one of these subjects and aims. There's even one on life itself. The title of that chapter? "Life is the art of drawing without an eraser."
So far, you might conclude that this book is no more than an extremely witty and with-it version of "Bartlett's Quotations." You'd be wrong. This book doesn't just deliver quotations; it examines how they get quotable. The secret, says the author ("Dr. Mardy" to his fans), lies in the metaphor and its cousins (like the simile) that take the prosaic out of the prose.
Dr. Mardy is like a professional magician, passing his tricks on to his chosen successor. He shows what's behind the metaphor and how its stunts are performed. He shows you how best to enjoy the performance. And, when you write, he shows how to creatively wave a wand over words, to make a paying public or a world of family e-mails, your stage (to quote, more or less, one maker of metaphors).
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