The Optimist's/Pessimist's Handbook

Oct 21, 2024 7:16 PM

Author:Niall Edworthy,Petra Cramsie

Are optimists just reckless dreamers? Are pessimists miserable doom-mongers or just erring on the side of caution? Is the glass half empty or half full?

Brilliantly compiled and beautifully written, this is a rich anthology of evidence from both sides of any argument. Covering everything from Beauty to Happiness, Patriotism to Walking, it is the perfect tool for squabbling families, a counterbalance for arguing couples and a mine of detail for the quarrelsome.

The Optimist on the Afterlife: My heaven will be filled with wonderful young men and dukes. (Dame Barbara Cartland)

And the Pessimist: 'That's what Hell will be like, small chat to the babbling of Lethe about the good old days when we wished we were dead. (Samuel Beckett)

Reviews

A compendium of enlightening snippets . . . Just looking at the quirky cover made me wonder if the book had been shelved in the Hogwarts' library . . . worth the book's price for anyone tasked with running positive school assemblies. I hadn't met all the quotes before and the information was entertaining.

—— www.thebookbag.co.uk

Beautifully illustrated… it will strike a chord, even if it seems a bit unfair to strip the ordinary things people say then put them in a book, all the while scoffing at them for not being worthy of putting in a book. Still, that's Christmas for you

—— Toby Clements , Telegraph

A modern curse is turned into a treasure trove of strangers' words

—— Ben Felsenburg , Metro

Great only in the sense of being darn good, this is a tiny, beautifully produced volume

—— David Sexton , Evening Standard

A mine of information

—— Choice magazine

Informative and beguiling ... Charmingly put together with apt little drawings ... Jane Struthers tells many a fine tale

—— Tablet

The perfect holiday read

—— Country Homes and Interiors

Wherever your seaside haunt this book is one to pack

—— Field

A real mine of information. Thoroughly recommended

—— Best of British

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