The Portable Curmudgeon (Plume) | 
 enlarge | Creator: Jon Winokur
Publisher: Plume
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 301847
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.2 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0452266688
Dewey Decimal Number: 081
EAN: 9780452266681
ASIN: 0452266688
Publication Date: October 1, 1992
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Condition: Cover wear and may contain some marks or writing. Keen Northwest ships in 2 business days or less. Refunds for any reason if item returned within 30 days of shipment.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Wry Humor January 10, 2007
L. Ingster (Great Falls, VA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very droll humor. I love it but it's not for everyone. But for those who enjoy clever humor as opposed to slapstick, this will be a pleasurable source of wit for a long time.
Excellent, one of the best, could've used an index December 9, 2004
Joseph Schmolsky (Los Angeles)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I give it 5 stars because it's one of the best of its kind. Compare, for example, a few pages to "The Curmudgeon Woman" and you may understand my meaning. The latter book is filled with weak minded quotes. I couldn't find a single intelligent epigram, let alone any caustic ones. On the other hand, it must take a certain degree of perseverance to weed out the blandest of quotes from the otherwise fine writers that Ms. Henley has researched. But the key to quality curmudgeon thinking is intelligence.
Winokur's interviews and commentary, the latter of which is minimal, are engaging. Apparently he's something of a purist crank himself. The most brilliant of the Algonquin generation: Parker, Mencken, Fields is an interesting and brief read. He's a witty interviewer, too: he asks the right questions and doesn't underestimate, fully understands the intelligent nuances of his interviewees. The Liebowitz interview, for instance, is a classic, and the bios of Fields, Kaufman and the beloved hypochondriac Oscar Levant are actually rather touching, balancing out the cold detachment necessary in creating a book of this type. If I'm gushing, I apologize, particularly in this setting, but I believe Winokur nailed this one.
On the down side, the book was created, published in 1987, so it can be, at times a bit dated, such as in the interviews, but this is minimal. The arrangement of the quotes is alphabetical according to various topics which, for some reason, never seems to help me. I find myself searching too long to find a quote that I remember is somewhere in there, only what damn topic was it under, you know? An index would have been helpful, but then I guess that would have extended it and threatened its portableness. Consequently, I tend to enjoy it more as a browser.
It's a great travel book because it really is portable, not too heavy to hold and also fits in a coat pocket like a paperback, yet isn't a paperback, so it's fancier and makes a nice gift. I'm promoting it because I believe that people should read the thoughts of intelligent people. The problem is finding such intelligence in the hay stack of a library or book store. This book does a great justice by doing the research work and finding the most intelligent quotes. It's no small wonder that the smartest of thoughts are also the most caustic.
Curmudgeons should like this one.. January 27, 2004
J. Guild (Toronto,Canada)
1 out of 18 found this review helpful
The only quotation book I've seen that is limited to Curmudgeons and it stays fairly true to its theme.It shows what a mean spirited and miserable bunch most curmudgeons are.They are more to be laughed at than laughed with. Most seem to have a very negative existance and it would be hard to imagine spending much time with any of them.How could you find them likeable when they don't even like themselves;but that would suit them just fine.If you are looking for wit,humor and great observations on life in general,you'll find this book lacking;except possibly the quotes from Twain.However,if you like self-centered satire emanating from a deep seated bitterness and loneliness ,then this is for you.
Webster defines a curmudgeon as "a bad tempered,churlish man."
Many of the characters quoted don't fit that definition and certainly it doesn't fit females.Example.."one more drink and I'll be under the host."..Dorothy Parker.How is that a quip from a curmudgeon?
The interviews were a bit of a drag and a better effort would have been to give a short note on each quoted,especially the less known names;and an index by author.
I have rated this book on how well the compiler completed what he set out to do.
Great little book, tons of laughs per page December 18, 2003
Keith Tokash (Laguna Niguel, CA United States)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I'm a little young to know many of the people who are quoted in this book, but the hilarity of the quotes made me look up and start reading authors like George Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Those two names should give you an indication of the type of quotes you'll be reading in this little gem. Most are wry, a bit sarcastic, pessimistic and critical.I have no idea what book the previous reviewer was reading when he talked about the author's interpretations of the quotes. I've had this book for years and went thru it tons of times; there are no interpretations. It is a bunch of quotes on topics arranged alphabetically with some selected biographies mixed in. It actually reads quite nicely. Buy this book unless you agree with Oscar Levant..."I have given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself". (pg 34)
Anyone who loves language used well will enjoy this book. July 22, 2003
Lucy Lee (Sherman Oaks, CA USA)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
A collection of quotes from a smorgasbord of irascible writers, critics, philosophers, and celebrities, this book is organized alphabetically, inviting you to thumb to a topic that rankles, finding just the right words (albeit someone else's) to express your cynicism, contempt, or outrage.At a time when public discourse seems largely derived from the banalities of reality TV, it's reassuring to have at hand hundreds of sharp and sensible observations from curmudgeons, both classic and contemporary. And Jon Winokur's catalogue of curmudgeons also reminds us that the best curmudgeonly commentary is purposeful: its aim is to puncture pretense, to expose hypocrisy. Winokur provides illuminating profiles of some of the "greats" -- including two of my favorites, H.L. Mencken and Dorothy Parker -- letting us see the context that helped create their curmudgeonliness. The book is also sprinkled with brief but revealing interviews with successor curmudgeons, like John Simon and Calvin Trillin. In teaching writing, I've found the quotes collected here invaluable for introducing students to such alien concepts as wit, irony, and the artful use of metaphor. If you haven't yet become acquainted with this classic volume -- and with the eloquently testy people you meet on every page -- you're in for a treat.
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