Rating: 
Summary: Great fun
Review:
Really enjoyed this book!I was taken by the author's coining of "Oxymoronica"It's got a bit of flair over "Oxymora".I tend to be more taken by shorter oxymorons,but the author has shown that any locution that produces a contradiction qualifies.
"Military intelligence" is one of my favorites.
I must admit though,the first Reviewer,Michael Kolowich,on Mar 7 ,2004,came up with an awful good one."Extraordinary"Thanks Michael,I hope you don't mind me using it.His review is great and deserves the 7 of 7 helpful votes he received.Not bad for his one and only review to date.Is this the best of the least or the least of the best?
I intend to keep this book handy and add to it with any little gems I come across.
Oxymorons have been a favorite of mine for some time;but I also enjoy the "stupid insults"(for want of a better word).
Here are a couple:
"His porch light's on but there's nobody home."
"He's not playing with a full deck."
"His elevator doesn't stop on all floors."
How about it Dr.,an idea for another book,even an opportunity to coin a new word.
e
Rating:
Summary: Quotations to Make You Go "Hmmm?"
Review:
I am sure if someone had told me before I read this book that it was an easy-to-read, entertaining, and informative combination of a simple quote book, many cultural and historical references, and a scholarly and literary analysis of paradoxes and oxymorons, I would not have bought it. Well, I sure am glad nobody told me exactly what the book was about because I not only bought it and read it, I thought it was an outstanding book.
"Oxymoronica," a new term introduced by Dr. Mardy Grothe and the title of this book, was defined inside the front cover as "any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true."
In keeping with that definition, the book contained over 1,400 oxymoronic and paradoxical quotations from ancient times to today, organized into fourteen categories, most of which you would expect to find in any standard book of quotations (i.e. advice; insults; politics; sex, love, and romance; marriage, home, and family life). Complementing the wit and wisdom of the quotations was Grothe's historical and cultural research and his ability to present and put into a logical, often humorous, context the quotations so that I could reflect on and appreciate their profound meanings. You can open the book at random or read it sequentially and get the same pleasant experience both ways.
I had many profoundly personal moments of reflection on people and events in my life throughout the pages of this book:
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's own ignorance." Confucius
"You can't make anything idiot-proof because idiots are so ingenious." Ron Burns
"The child is father of the man." William Wordsworth
"When you add to the truth, you subtract from it." From the Talmud
"He had nothing to say and he said it." Ambrose Bierce, on a contemporary
"I learned an awful lot from him by doing the opposite." Howard Hawkes, on Cecil B. DeMille
"Most people when they come to you for advice come to have their own opinions strengthened, not corrected." Josh Billings
"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." Jonathon Swift
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." George Orwell, in "Animal Farm"
Rating:
Summary: A Small Volume of Poetic Prose
Review: "Oxymoron" is Greek for "Sharp-Dull," (e.g. "long brief" and "jumbo shrimp"), and this little book delivers a treasure trove of paradoxical sayings in which unintentional wit takes the form of intentional witlessness (Yogi Berra -- "I didn't say everything I said") and intentional witlessness masquerades as unintentional wit ("Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist needs his head examined"). This book is a painfully delightful exploration of skewed syntax and perverse proverbs.
Rating:
Summary: Tantalizingly True!
Review: Dr. Grothe's "Oxymoronica" left me chuckling and amused on more than one occasion. Although this book is -- as another reviewer indicated -- a mere collection of quotes, the presentation and commentary provided by Dr. Grothe makes it so much more than a simple book of not-so-simple quotes. If you buy this book, be prepared to mark it up because you'll find yourself repeatedly reminding yourself, "I've got to remember that quote". A stellar read that should be enjoyed, savored, and referred to frequently!!
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure-Trove of Double-Faceted Gems
Review: Dr. Mardy Grothe, author of _Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You_, has written another gem -- _Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths_. The subtitle is perfectly apt: Wit and wisdom form the crux of an oxymoron, and Grothe's examples -- drawn from around the world -- span millennia.
As Grothe says in his introduction, "Many examples of oxymoronica appear illogical or self-contradictory on the surface. But at a deeper level, they usually make a great deal of sense and are often profoundly true."
A linguaphile extraordinaire, Grothe has been collecting quotations for nearly four decades. From his eight to ten thousand examples of oxymoronica, he has culled nearly 1500 for inclusion in the present volume. He has arranged them into fourteen chapters, each with a theme, such as romance, family, politics, the arts, and literature. One chapter is devoted to "ancient oxymoronica," another to "inadvertent oxymoronica." Grothe provides commentary through about the first half of each chapter, citing oxymora (the purists' plural) that illustrate his points. The last half of each chapter presents additional oxymora without commentary. Grothe advises readers not to read these too quickly but to take time to savor each one as if it were gourmet chocolate.
Here are a few of my favorites from _Oxymoronica_:
There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception. --James Thurber
Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it. --Montaigne
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. --G. K. Chesterton
I'm the Hiroshima of love. --Sylvester Stallone
_Oxymoronica_ is a linguaphile's paradise. It will delight you again and again with its double-faceted gems. It is a celebration not only of people's wit and wisdom but also of the paradoxical nature of our world.
Rating:
Summary: What a gem of a square little book
Review: I laughed and thought and laughed and thought a little more reading this delight of a bitty book. It's even hilarious that it is broken up into chapters like "oxymoronic insults (and a few compliments)". Paradoxical language positively intrigues me. The compilation here is like no book of quotes you've ever read but it is a book of quotes. Quotes that work because they don't work. Backwards uses of words that when used together make perfect sense but no sense at all. Here are a couple of my favorites:"He has not a single redeeming defect." Benjamin Disraeli on William Gladstone "I have never let my schooling interfere with my Education." Mark Twain This book is quick, juicy and a smile maker; a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: What a gem of a square little book
Review: I laughed and thought and laughed and thought a little more reading this delight of a bitty book. It's even hilarious that it is broken up into chapters like "oxymoronic insults (and a few compliments)". Paradoxical language positively intrigues me. The compilation here is like no book of quotes you've ever read but it is a book of quotes. Quotes that work because they don't work. Backwards uses of words that when used together make perfect sense but no sense at all. Here are a couple of my favorites: "He has not a single redeeming defect." Benjamin Disraeli on William Gladstone "I have never let my schooling interfere with my Education." Mark Twain This book is quick, juicy and a smile maker; a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: What a gem of a square little book
Review: I laughed and thought and laughed and thought a little more reading this delight of a bitty book. It's even hilarious that it is broken up into chapters like "oxymoronic insults (and a few compliments)". Paradoxical language positively intrigues me. The compilation here is like no book of quotes you've ever read but it is a book of quotes. Quotes that work because they don't work. Backwards uses of words that when used together make perfect sense but no sense at all. Here are a couple of my favorites: "He has not a single redeeming defect." Benjamin Disraeli on William Gladstone "I have never let my schooling interfere with my Education." Mark Twain This book is quick, juicy and a smile maker; a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, Useful and and a Pleasure to Read!
Review: I loved this book! If you are interested in the clever and inadvertently clever use of language, you will enjoy Oxymoronica. The chapters are organized into general categories and I especially enjoyed the ones on Politics and Family Life. I think the book would be an excellent resource for attorneys, pastors, teachers and anyone interested in public speaking.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it, Read it, Rejoice!
Review: If you love words, as I do, this one's for you! Dr. Mardy Grothe has given us 227pp. of mankind's best "verbal joustings." To wit: "The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.If you can fake that, you've got it made" (Groucho Marx); "Personally I know nothing about sex because I've always been married" (Zsa Zsa Gabor); "I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous" (Anonymous); and "I am deeply superficial" (Ava Gardner). Grouped by subject, this collection of "oxymoronica" (a term coined by the author) demonstrates that great wisdom frequently emerges from the coupling of seemingly inherently contradictory words and phrases in the same sentence. I read this book in one sitting just to see what was there; now all that remains is to savor each contribution in the days and months ahead. In closing I offer this oxymoronic tribute to Dr. Grothe's work: Even the poorest among us shall be made rich by the words contained herein!
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