Review: `If you try to be good, all the rest of life will fall into place.'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2014
Wisconsin native Larry W. Phillips is the author of numerous books, including `Ernest Hemingway On Writing', `Zen and the Art of Poker', `F Scott Fitzgerald on Writing', `Covering the Second Coming', `The Tao of Poker', `Madison Retro,  and `The Rift.' He began his writing career as a reporter for the United Country Courier newspaper. Before focusing upon books, he authored many magazine and newspaper articles. From this collection of titles it would seem that though well informed about writing and gaming there is little to suggest that his interest would move into the realm of collecting epigrams. But again, a man of such diverse experience is bound to have encountered enough meaningful moments that his decision to share them seems natural.An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. Or as Phillips states, `Somewhere in memory are all the moments that occurred in the past that are like this moment.' Phillips has arranged his epigrams into categories and encourages the reader to wander through his thoughts, choosing which subject feels more urgent, rather than reading the books cover to cover. Some of the subjects he has  created include Conversation, Friends & Friendship, Love, Politics & World History,  Illogic and Inconsistency, On Negativity, Criticism, Adversaries, Enemies , Evil, Phoniness, Character and Integrity, Self-Involvement,  Exercise & Health, Life, Perceptions, Death, Time, Aging, Youth, & Adulthood, Victims, Losers & Martyrs, Art,  On Linear Thinking, Happiness & Unhappiness, Morality, Sanity and Insanity and so on. In each category he delivers multiple thoughts - written images to stimulate response from the reader.For example, in the section Character and Integrity comes the following epigram: `There is such a thing as being so dedicated to fairness, as an elemental law, so rigidly a part of your being, that when you encounter someone who doesn't give it that much stock you are unfair to them.' From the section on Death: `SUICIDE. In order to kill yourself, the complete and total unknown has to be more attractive than the known.' From the section on Morality: `We ought to try to be good as we get older, not to impress anyone, or to be known as a certain kind of person, but to find peace with ourselves. To achieve a point of serenity and equilibrium so balanced it can last till eternity.'These are but a few thoughts that fill the pages of this richly impressive collection. Read and grow, read and reflect, but read! Grady Harp, May 14