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Viva la Repartee:
Clever Comebacks & Witty Retorts from
History's Great Wits & Wordsmiths
Published November 2005 Hardcover: 304 pages
List Price: $14.95 ISBN: 0060789484
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All on-line booksellers will be selling the book, but to make things a little easier for you, I'll provide a link to amazon.com below:
Viva la Repartee is a celebration of clever comebacks and witty replies from some of history's most quick-witted people. After the success of Oxymoronica, my publisher asked if I could
quickly follow up with another book. Viva la Repartee is the result.
The book contains over 600 examples of repartee, and the often fascinating stories behind them. All of the usual suspects have been rounded up, like Winston Churchill's famous reply to Nancy
Astor ("And if you were my wife, I'd drink it!") and Groucho Marx's legendary quip to a man who said he had ten children because he loved his wife ("I love my cigar, but I take it out of my mouth every now and then").
You'll also find wonderful ripostes and rejoinders from Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Mae West, Dorothy Parker, Dolly Parton, and many, many others.
The book also features many fabulous, but little-known, replies, like the spectacular remark that actor Christopher Reeve made one night to host James Lipton on the Bravo TV program
"Inside the Actor's Studio." When Reeve was asked what it was liked to have acted with Katherine Hepburn, he delighted the audience with his reply:
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"People say I acted with Katherine Hepburn.
The truth is I acted near Katherine Hepburn."
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Even though I've been interested in repartee for more than forty years, I only began to systematically collect examples of such wit-under-pressure about ten years ago. I've found them in books,
magazines, newspapers, films, and television programs. Many were described—often with great relish—at cocktail parties and in personal conversations. As friends and colleagues learned about
my project, they began to tell me their favorites. As my collection of comebacks grew into the thousands, I began organizing them into categories (political, literary, sports, etc.).
The target audience for the book has always been perfectly clear to me: it's for people who enjoy great wit and wordplay, especially when the cleverness is displayed under pressure or when the
chips are down. If this description fits you, I think you'll enjoy the book. If you know such a person, it could be the perfect gift.
For more information, click on the links below:
 Table of Contents
How to Get the Book
To give you a better idea of how the book is organized, the Table of Contents appears below:
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Chapter 1
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Classic Retorts, Ripostes, & Rejoinders
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Chapter 2
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Classic Quips, Ad-libs, & Off-the-Cuff Remarks
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Chapter 3
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Laconic Repartee
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Chapter 4
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Stage & Screen Repartee
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Chapter 5
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Literary Repartee
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Chapter 6
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Political Repartee
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Chapter 7
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Written Repartee
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Chapter 8
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Round Table Repartee
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Chapter 9
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Relationship Repartee
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Chapter 10
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Senior Citizen Repartee
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Chapter 11
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Sports Repartee
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Chapter 12
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Chiastic Repartee
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Chapter 13
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Oxymoronic Repartee
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Chapter 14
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Inadvertent Repartee
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Chapter 15
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Risqué Repartee
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Let me briefly describe three ways for you to get a copy of the book.
1) Your Local Bookstore
Most discerning bookstores will have Viva la Repartee in stock, so a visit to your favorite bookseller may be the easiest way to get your hands on a copy. If they don't have it, ask them to order a copy.
This is a service bookstores are more than willing to provide to their book-loving customers, so take advantage of it.
2) Online Bookstore: 
3) Your Local Library
If you're a little short on cash right now, no problem! You can be reading Viva la Repartee within a few weeks. Simply call or go to your local library and ask them to order a copy or two for the
library's collection. Tell them to reserve the book for you, and they'll notify you when it comes in. I've been able to get my hands on scores of books this way over the years. This is one of the many fantastic
services provided by public libraries; yet very few people are aware of it. And it's paid for by your tax dollars, so take advantage of it. By the way, even if you decide to buy a copy of the book, I'd appreciate your asking
your local library to order a copy anyway.
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