Fall for the Book
Video talk: Literature's Peak Experience: How Aphorisms Work
October 10 — Fairfax, VA
International Aphorism Conference
October 24-25 — Wroclaw, Poland
Harvard Book Store
November 10, 7pm — 1256 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Charleston Literary Festival
November 12, 10am — Charleston, SC
Politics and Prose
November 15, 3pm — 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
Mechanics' Hall
in collaboration with The Rabkin Foundation
November 18, 7pm — 519 Congress St., Portland, ME
Barnes & Noble Philadelphia
November 21, 6pm — 1708 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA
Hatchards, Piccadily
January 15, 2026, 6:30pm — 187 Piccadilly, London, UK
Iowa City Book Festival
October 2026 — Iowa City, IA
The World in a Phrase
A Brief History of the Aphorism - Second Edition
Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world.
Aphorisms are literature’s hand luggage. Light and compact, they contain everything you need to get through a rough day at the office or a dark night of the soul. Aphorisms, the oldest written art form on the planet, have been going viral for thousands of years, delivering the short, sharp shock of old forgotten truths. Today, visual artists are mixing pithy language with compelling imagery and using social media to take the form into the future. In a world of disinformation and deepfakes, aphorisms point to the power of fresh debate over tired dogma and inconvenient truths over comfortable lies.
Starting in ancient China and ending with contemporary meme-makers and street artists, The World in A Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through brief biographies of some of its greatest practitioners, from the Buddha, Nietzsche, and George Eliot to James Baldwin, Audre Lorde and David Byrne. The World in A Phrase is for lovers of words and seekers of wisdom. This new edition of the New York Times bestseller features 26 additional aphorists and explores the aphorism in the age of social media, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase.
Published by the University of Chicago Press on November 10!
Pre-order Now
Praise for The Original Edition
“Geary fell in love with aphorisms when, at 8, his eye wandered to the Quotable Quotes section of Reader’s Digest ... His attraction turned into a lifetime obsession, which he indulges to the fullest in ‘The World in a Phrase’, his entertaining love letter to the compact form.”
– New York Times
“Probably the definitive work on aphorisms, a love letter-cum-memoir disguised as a reference book ... fellow fanatics will be delighted.”
– Publishers Weekly
“It is impossible not to be swept along with Geary’s enthusiasm. He has illuminated some poignant observations of the significance of introspection.”
– The Times Literary Supplement
“What a pleasant, personal, thoughtful little book ... Geary’s account is full of wonderful aphorisms .... Delightful.”
– Booklist
Events
Upcoming Appearances
Video talk: Literature's Peak Experience: How Aphorisms Work
October 10, Fairfax, VA
International Aphorism Conference
October 24-25, Wroclaw, Poland
November 10, 7pm, 1256 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
November 12, 10am, Charleston, SC
November 15, 3pm, 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in collaboration with The Rabkin Foundation
November 18, 7pm, 519 Congress St., Portland, ME
November 21, 6pm, 1708 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA
January 15, 2026, 6:30pm, 187 Piccadilly, London, UK
October 2026, Iowa City, IA
Aphorisms by Dražen Jergović
June 24, 2026
Dražen Jergović is an electrical engineer by profession and an aphorist by vocation. He is the author of three books of humor/satire — Rideamus, The Key to (Un)Success and The Diary of a Niggler — and leads workshops on writing short humorous/satirical pieces for both children and adults. Based in Zagreb, Croatia, he is vice-president of the Association of Croatian Aphorists and Humorists (UHAH) and the Association of Artists August Šenoa as well as the founding editor-in-chief of the online magazine Uh!Aha. A selection of Dražen’s aphorisms…
The unemployed get a break all day, the employed only get half an hour.
A book is practically the only object you can leave anywhere without fear of someone stealing it.
Where the blood is hot, the head must be cool.
Where there is much to do, few are interested.
Filling our pockets, we empty our hearts.
The past is before us.
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The World in a Phrase
A Brief History of the Aphorism - Second Edition
Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world. This new edition of the New York Times bestseller explores the aphorism in the age of social media, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase.
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