Call Me Ishmael: 801 Memorable First and Last Lines in Literature

Although the printed word has been with us for nearly six hundred years, most books have long been forgotten. Those that have lasted contain powerful insights, dramatic narrative, incisive wit, or linguistic surprises that have earned them a place in Call Me Ishmael. The memorable opening and closing lines here are culled from all of the world's great literature: from the Bible to Homer, from Shakespeare to nineteenth-century novelists, and from the works of such varied contemporary writers as James Baldwin, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Woody Allen, and A. A. Milne. Sprinkled throughout the quotes from fiction are lines from famous plays and biographies, from classics of poetry and philosophy.