Hemingway Didn't Say That

I really appreciated the author's attention to detail and to making sure false attributions were revealed. There is a problem with the surfeit of words and text inundating us these days, and I applaud the author's attempt to clarify the origins of numerous well-known sayings. However, I soon found myself tired of wading through the often convoluted histories of pithy sayings, and began skimming down through the essays until I reached the “in conclusion” paragraph. I guess that is “typical” for modern readers who are only mildly curious in a subject. While it is comforting to know that at least some measure of scholarly research has been done on a subject, unless one is keenly interested in the subject, a quick overview is sufficient. This book was, still, a fun read, and had some surprises, and I would recommend it even to those merely mildly interested in such things. To paraphrase one of the the (funny) examples in this book: “This book will appeal to those who like this kind of book.”