Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You: Chiasmus and a World of Quotations That Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say (Hardcover)

"In the Halls of Justice, the only justice is in the halls." -- Lenny Bruce

"Is man one of God's blunders, or God one of man's blunders? -- Nietzsche

"Love makes time pass, time makes love pass." -- Italian Proverb

"The value of marriage is not that adults produce children, but that children produce adults." -- Peter De Vries

My goal is to bring chiasmus out of the closet of obscurity and move it into the world of popular parlance. If there's a precedent for what I'm trying to do, it's the word oxymoron. Fifty years ago, it was a rare word, known by only a small and select group of people. Today virtually all literate people know what it means. I want the same thing to happen with chiasmus.

I accidentally stumbled on the word nearly ten years ago and, ever since, my life has been dominated by chiasmus and the search for chiastic (that's the adjective) quotations. I now have over 10,000 chiastic quotes in my personal collection. I sometimes say, "I didn't just get into chiasmus, chiasmus also got into me."

If you're a word, language, or quotation lover, I think you will love this book. In it, you're going to find some of the most incredible quotes ever assembled--including hundreds I guarantee you've never seen before.

Once you begin using the word chiasmus in everyday discourse, you'll probably impress people with your erudition. And maybe you'll even put a few know-it-alls in their place as you toss out a quote they've never heard before and add innocently, "As you know, that's a particularly fine example of chiasmus."

A working knowledge of chiasmus can also add some special moments to your life, as you share your own chiastic creations--sometimes quite spontaneously--with others. Here are two recent examples from my life. I sent out an e-mail the other day inviting friends to a book publication party. When I had to type something in the subject line, the words came almost effortlessly:

"Celebrating a Book and Booking a Celebration."

And while having dinner with friends recently, someone asked me about my hopes for the book. I said, "Well, I've had a wealth of experience, so I guess I'm hoping this book will provide me with . . . I don't know . . . an experience of wealth." We all laughed heartily, and there were "oohs" and "aahs" from all around as people marveled at my extemporaneous chiastic reply.

Will this book provide me with an experience of wealth? Probably not. But I've had a ball putting the book together, and I think you'll have a ball reading it.

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