This collection of quotes on more than four hundred topics related to education is ideal for gaining perspective and insight into this broad field. The quotations from both male and female authors reach as far back as three thousand years. The nearly 2,700 entries reveal how education has been perceived at different times and in various societies. For example, in the sage words of Diogenes (circa 400–325 B.C.E.), "Education is a controlling grace to the young, consolation to the old, wealth to the poor, and ornament to the rich" (p. 78). Oscar Wilde, writing in the late nineteenth century, offers a humbling quote for educators: "Education is a wonderful thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught" (p. 86). And the contemporaneous and humorous Rita Mae Brown said in 1988, "Education is a wonderful thing. If you couldn't sign your name you'd have to pay cash" (p. 78).

The encyclopedia is well organized. Under each topic, quotes are listed alphabetically by author; if the author is unknown, they are listed by source. There is also an author index listing all of the quotations included in the encyclopedia from that individual. This volume moves readers beyond their own specialized worlds and invites them to muse, reflect on, and contemplate the wide world of education.
M.S.