About the Author Niall Edworthy is an author and journalist. He is the author of The Curious Gardender’s Almanac and over a dozen other books under a variety of guises and noms de plume, covering military history, biography, sport, general humor, and gardening. He lives in West Sussex with his wife and two children.The following are the author's biographical blurbs as they appear in The Optimist's/Pessimist's Handbook:The Optimist's Handbook: Niall Edworthy is the celebrated author of twenty books, making him a hero to many around the globe. Commentators say it is just a matter of time before he sweeps the board of literary awards, turns down a seat in the House of Lords and retires from his estate in the Home Counties to a tropical island, a robust, over-sexed, eight-figure-millionaire philanthropist.The Pessimist's Handbook:Over the past decade Niall Edworthy has made a poor to modest living as a jobbing hack. An ongoing disappointment to his dysfunctional family and both his friends, Niall spends his days in a cold garage in the middle of nowhere typing nonsense into an old computer with the one finger not yet afflicted by RSI. His magnum opus, Life Is a Bowl of Toenail Clippings, remains unfinished.Petra Cramsie worked as an editor for puzzle magazines, then as a writer/researcher for a production company making television documentaries, and then as an editor at Allison and Busby. After leaving London, she studied for degrees in human ecology and philosophy. She lives in Herefordshire with her family.The following are the author's biographical blurbs as they appear in The Optimist's/Pessimist's Handbook:The Optimist's Handbook: In her dazzling early career launching exhibitions, publishing magazines, editing books and writing for television, Petra Cramsie added considerably to the gaiety of nations. She now lives in a rural idyll above Herefordshire’s Golden Valley, secure in the knowledge that tomorrow will be even better than today. Blessed with children, Petra often reminds those citizens of a brighter future that a day without a smile is like a day without sunshine.The Pessimist's Handbook: After years spent toiling at various unrewarding employments, Petra Cramsie left London to face the vicissitudes of middle age. She and her dependants live in a godforsaken, wind-tormented spot opposite the Black Mountains. When she is not up to her eyeballs in relentless domestic drudgery, she spends her time contemplating the exact size, shape and texture of the hand-basket in which the world is going to hell.
H**R
happy fun......sad fun..
This is a real "fun" book. Keep it on the coffee table. The black cover is the pessmist half. Now turn it over . The white cover is the optimist part. Great to pick up...open anywhere.....read a page or two...
L**N
Funny, Uplifting, Ironic, and Insightful
"The Optimist's Handbook" is really half of a clever printing that covers a number of topics (eg. Death, Fame, Life, Love, Science, Sex, etc.) from both the perspective of an optimist and a pessimist. Personally, I liked the pessimist side best because it quickly turns most frowns into grins.Following are some examples:Resigning yourself to life's grim treadmill, and thereby avoiding more disappointments, is the best way to trudge forward. Misery loves company, but not with a horde of perky Utopians.Adventure is just bad planning. (Roald Amundsen)My only solution for the problem of habitual accidents is to stay in bed all day. Even then, there is always the chance that you will fall out. (Robert Benchley)The more books one reads, the more stupid one becomes. (Mao Tse-Tung)Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. (Henry Kissinger)The graveyards are full of indispensable men. (Charles De Gaulle)A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic. (Josef Stalin)Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent; the world is full of educated derelicts. (Calvin Coolidge)You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test. (George W. Bush)Peter remained on friendly terms with Christ notwithstanding Christ's having healed his mother-in-law. (Samuel Butler)Science is the record of dead religions. (Oscar Wilde)In terms of allocation of time, religion is not very efficient. There is a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning. (Bill Gates)There is too much point to the wisecrack that life is extinct on other planets because their scientists were more advanced than ours. (John F. Kennedy)I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. (Thomas Watson)This "telephone" has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. This device is inherently of no value to us. (Western Union internal memo)The was in Vietnam is going well and will succeed. (Robert McNamera)Why yes, a bullet-proof vest. (James Rodgers' last request in front of the firing squad.)"One of the greatest gifts science has brought to the world is continuing elimination of the supernatural. We can live our lives without the constant fear that we have offended this or that deity, or that we are at the mercy of devils or the Fates. (James D. Watson)
M**U
We're Screwed/Saved!
I’m of two minds about this one. On the one hand, I think it’s great. On the other hand, I think it’s terrific. Various pundits, artists, writers, publicists, suffragettes, et al., bring their thoughts to bear on some of the weightier and lighter subjects that have teased humanity. Whether you have a jaundiced view of the world or a perky one, this book brings its lights to shine in the darkness.
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