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the last word is a quotations book, with a political slant, that I compiled in the mid-eighties based on quotations columns I assembled during that period for a variety of magazines and newspapers. The Introduction goes into some more detail on the genesis of those columns and I won't repeat or belabor that information here.

It is with some trepidation that I present this book, essentially in its original form, to the web-viewing public today. To be sure, much of the content of this book is timeless wit and wisdom from many of the great writers of ages past. Other content, however, arose from ephemeral political events. While possibly topical at the time the book was written, many of the players or events or issues may be obscure to all but the most hard core political junkie. Futhermore, some of the enormous changes on the world scene, such as the dissolution of the Soviet Union, make a chapter such as Behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains somewhat of an anachronism. (This is a tradeoff which I'm very happy to live with.) My chapter introductions are doubtless similarly bounded in time and space.

Be that as it may, I have elected to present the last word in its entirety, unchanged and unedited save for the HTML formatting and the occasional correction of a previously unseen stylistic or spelling error. May you enjoy it in this form and apply a certain sense of "historical perspective" to that content which could perhaps have benefited from updating.

Chapters

  1. Introduction
  2. The Theory and Reality of Government
  3. American Politics: 1960-1985
  4. Liberals and Conservatives
  5. Behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains
  6. War and Peace
  7. The Media
  8. Crime and Punishment
  9. The Sexes
  10. Money Makes the World Go Round
  11. The Ivy Covered Walls
  12. Beliefs and Superstitions
  13. Art and Entertainment
  14. The Modern Life
  15. Morals and Manners
  16. There's No Place Like Home
  17. Verities and Balderdash

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