At long last, an encyclopedic collection of quotations from powerful people and those who understand the power of the spoken word.

According to author Richard Pound, dynamic, influential people (and even those who think they are, or wish they were) have a language, at times, of their very own.

It's the language of presidents and prime ministers - those carefully crafted or off-the-cuff remarks that send reporters into fits of scribbling, and flood the airwaves with the sound bites" that ring in our ears long after the words have been spoken.

It's the language of the people at the top, the CEOs, and VIPs who make (or sometimes think they make) the world go around - aggressive, high impact volleys of words and very often laugh-aloud wit that demonstrate the power of language in the world around us.

It's also the language of ordinary people who say what they mean and mean what they say - words, phrases, sentences that we wish we'd said, and will use on occasion when the time is right (with or without credit) for years to come.

A life-long collector with a keen eye for the pith and power of the spoken word, Richard Pound has assembled a collection of high impact quotations guaranteed to entertain and educate...

• "There are no penalties for over-achievement." (George Miller)
• "All my life I wanted to be somebody. Now I realize I should have been more specific." (Lily Tomlin)
• "A fellow who is always declaring he is no fool usually has his suspicions." (Wilson Metzner)
• "Adulation is all right if you don't inhale." (Adlai Stevenson)
• "You don't make sheep any fatter by weighing them." (Scottish Proverb)
• "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again. Then use a stunt double." (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
• "When it is not necessary to make a decision, it is necessary not to make a decision." (Lord Falkland)