The Bathroom Book of Quotes

By Patrick J. Mansell

The Bathroom Book of Quotes gives a brief biography of forty diverse characters, both contemporary and from history, and then adds to those bios some of their most famous quotes. Names as different as Aristotle and Lady Gaga, Winston Churchill and Elvis Presley, Thomas Jefferson and Marilyn Monroe are presented in this informative and entertaining collection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9780989873802

Book preview

THE BATHROOM BOOK

OF QUOTES

WRITTEN, COMPILED

AND EDITED

BY

PATRICK J. MANSELL

Copyright 2013 by Patrick J. Mansell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may

be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form,

or by any means, without the express written

permission of the publisher.

Bimini Twist Adventures, Inc.

Boca Raton, Florida 33434

ISBN 978-09836879-7-9

eISBN 9780989873802

Manufactured in the United States of America

FORWARD

Just as some people are famous and we don't know why, others are brilliant and we don’t know why they haven't become famous. In The Bathroom Book of Quotes we have both. But mostly what we have is famous people whose celebrity we understand. Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, Aristotle, all household names. Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the nation through the civil war. Marilyn Monroe was a famously popular movie icon and singer. Aristotle was a philosopher in ancient Greece. But that's about as much as many people know about these famous people. This book takes their biographies a little farther. It reveals a bit more in-depth knowledge about them; not enough to give the full story, but the good news is that every one of these people have had numerous biographies written about them.

For the reader who is intrigued about the life and work of Leonardo Di Vinci, here's a taste. If you want the whole story, there are hundreds of books and articles written about him that go into great detail. Then if you want to take it to the next level, visit Italy and see his works and learn about his amazing genius for yourself.

That's part of the reward for intellectual curiosity. To Google Michaelangelo's David is to see a picture of it and read a description of its dimensions and the background of its creation. But to stand in front of it in the Academia Gallery in Florence, and see it in all its majesty, will blow your mind. To attend a concert by Lady Gaga is an experience you won't soon forget, and to explore the depth of great thinkers like Albert Einstein and Thomas Jefferson is to be introduced to a whole new level of enlightenment.

But that's what reading for pleasure is supposed to do, stimulate curiosity, entertain, inform. It is difficult to imagine a better way to do this than to peek into the lives of people whose greatness is unquestioned, and whose ideas are worthy of study and understanding. We have to admit that when we judge ourselves as measured by true greatness, there is always room for improvement. So, the characters featured in The Bathroom Book of Quotes are all people who have made things happen and opened peoples' minds to different ideas.

This book was intentionally designed to present a variety of characters and ideas. Certainly many of the people and their quotes are controversial, but how narrow would be if we only explored the things we already believe in? Our intellectual growth would stop, and our usefulness to society, or to our own close circle of friends and family, would be stunted. Then in that case Mark Twain’s quote 'A person who does not read has no advantage over a person who cannot read' really takes on a personal meaning. But surely that doesn't apply here as witnessed by the fact that this book is being viewed by a reader right now.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Throughout the years I have been writing, I have joined countless writing groups. It’s always interesting to find out what motivates and what concerns writers. It has in part been something of a disappointing study. The first person I ever met who wrote a book was one of my college professors. He blatantly admitted that the reason he wrote was because he likes to see his name in print. This was an honest response that illustrated an egocentric motivation.

In the web postings of many of the writers who are members of the same groups as me, I often see blogs of questionable motivation. The ones that drive me crazy are the ones about promoting their work so they can make money and become famous. Should I hire an agent? How can I draw attention to my new book? I’m writing my first book and would like to have it gain the attention of a publishing house. How can I do that? All too often I see writers who write just so they can impress their friends and colleagues. I'm not seeing what I would call honest motivation, the desire to share ideas, the desire to educate, the desire to make their lives and the lives of others richer.

This whole discussion lacks character and shows an unseemly side of academia. Through these discussion boards I have chosen to examine my own motivation for writing. What I see as vain, I would not want to replicate. And I do not. Maybe my first books was an ego trip, but after I discovered that I love to write, I also discovered what it was about writing that I loved the most. Laying words down on paper is easy. The challenge is in finding those words. The heady part of writing for me is the research and learning experience I derive from writing. Even in my early novels, written for an audience that reads for some kind of relaxation or simple enjoyment, I was engaged in research work that stimulated me. It made me more aware of the world around me. It made me study and think.

I have written several books that have expanded my knowledge base and left me satisfied that I have created something others could enjoy and benefit from. But this little book, The Bathroom Book of Quotes, was the best experience yet. While I settled on forty famous people to publish, I actually researched perhaps twice that many. As it turns out, some of the people I had considered were just not that interesting, so I targeted these forty who either did something amazing or unique, or said something brilliant. And that's how I came up with this book. I hope you enjoy it and it peaks your interest in some of these characters.

P.J.M.

INDEX

John F. Kennedy

John Lennon

Marilyn Monroe

Confucius

Steve Jobs

Simon Bolivar

Leonardo Da Vinci

Winston Churchill

Socrates

Dr. Seuss

Napoleon Bonaparte

Abraham Lincoln

Homer

Michaelangelo

Lady Gaga

Dang Thuy Tram

Aristotle

Nelson Mandela

Robert Louis Stevenson

Ellen DeGeneres

Martin Luther King

Yogi Berra

Stevie Wonder

Machiavelli

Mae West

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Edison

Elvis Presley

Samuel Johnson

Stephen King

Julius Caesar

Mark Twain

Henry Kissinger

Grace Slick

Theodore Roosevelt

Frank Zappa

Dalai Lama

Margaret Mead

William Shakespeare

Albert Einstein

JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.

John Kennedy, called ‘Jack’ when he wasn't being called ’Mr. President’, was an elegant speaker and gave many inspiring speeches throughout his career. This quote today shows much more wisdom perhaps than was understood when it was given. Look at the world condition. In America there is peaceful revolution as a matter of policy, and it has been demonstrated that violent revolution is unnecessary. However, take the Soviet Union, Lybia, North Korea, China, Egypt, Iraq. These countries are not free, and peaceful protest is impossible. Several have already undergone violent revolutions, and others will follow.

John Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, was a congressional representative and Senator from the State of Massachusetts, and son of the wealthy and powerful Joseph Kennedy. Kennedy lived a life of privilege having grown up in the tony town of Hyannis, and attended the best schools, including Harvard University. He was not the best of students growing up, but he was popular, handsome, wealthy, with a personality that glowed. He married the very beautiful and elegant Jacqueline Bouvier, and they had two children, John, Jr., affectionately called 'John-John', and Caroline. Kennedy was also a hero of World War II in the Pacific, having been a naval officer in command of the very famous PT109, and having earned medals for bravery including the Purple Heart.

As President, Kennedy was faced with many challenges. He had Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, with his expansionist communist platform, to deal with. He had the conversion of free Cuba to a communist state as a challenge at America's doorstep, and a serious civil rights problem at home. He expanded America's role in the Vietnam War although he was committed to trying to end that conflict. But with ever increasing tensions from the Soviet Union in Europe, Southeast Asia and Cuba, Kennedy's presidency was plagued by crisis throughout. Perhaps the most daring victory of his presidency was what has been referred to as the Cuban Missile Crisis. In that engagement Kennedy had the U.S. Navy form a blockade of Cuba and force Soviet warships to turn around or risk being sunk by U.S. forces. The Soviet Union backed down thus sparing the Caribbean and the Americas from having hostile nuclear warheads stationed within striking range.

Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. There are many unsolved conspiracy theories as to where the responsibility for his death