Bons Mots

Bons Mots*, as the title suggests, is a lively and entertaining book of memorable quotes divided into 18 sections. These range from art to war via business, environment, finance, living & dying, love & marriage, philosophy, politics and religion.

Collected primarily from contemporary sources, of the 250 names whose thoughts, words of wisdom and/or wit are included, the vast majority can be found on Wikipedia, most were born in the 20th century, and many are still living. In addition are some figures from the past including Aristotle, Rousseau, Napoleon, Disraeli.

This handy collection fits into a pocket and would make a ideal gift for almost anyone, as well as an aide memoire for a speaker or someone wanting a few quick quotes to liven up a meeting.

The collection includes words and thoughts from - to name but a few - heads of state: Queen Elizabeth ll, Obama, Macron, the Ruler of Qatar, Pope Francis; from business: Warren Buffett, Michael O'Leary, Steve Jobs; on the environment Chris Packham, Maathai Wangari and Charles Darwin. Writers include Christopher Hitchens, Edna O'Brien, Yuval Noah Harari; artists Antony Gormley, Luc Tuymans and Banksy; journalists writing for the Financial Times and The Guardian are also quoted, as are Donald Rumsfeld, Mandy Rice-Davies and Barry Humphries.

•Bons mots, French, literally means 'good words', but is best translated as 'clever or witty remarks' according to the Oxford English Dictionary.