' We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.' (Oscar Wilde)
'I tell you, we're in a blessed drain-pipe,
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Are optimists just reckless dreamers? Are pessimists miserable doom-mongers or just erring on the side of caution? Is the glass half empty or half full?

Brilliantly compiled & beautifully written, this is a rich anthology of evidence from both sides of any argument. Covering everything from Beauty to Happiness, Patriotism to Walking, it is the perfect tool for squabbling families, a counterbalance for arguing couples & a mine of detail for the quarrelsome.

The Optimist on the Afterlife: My heaven will be filled with wonderful young men & dukes. (Dame Barbara Cartland)
And the Pessimist: ' That




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Susan Orlean first met John Laroche when visiting Florida to write for the NEW YORKER about his arrest for stealing rare ghost orchids from a nature reserve. Fascinated both by Laroche & the world she uncovered of orchid collectors & growers, she stayed on, to write this magical exploration of obsession & the strange world both of the orchid obsessives & of Florida, that haunting & weird 'debatable land' of swamps & condos, retirement communities & real-estate scams. The world of the orchid hunters, breeders & showmen, their rivalries, vendettas & crimes, smuggling, thefts & worse provide the backdrop to a fascinating exploration of one of the byways of human nature, the obsessive world of the collector, & the haunting beauty of the flowers themselves. ...

Susan Orlean first met John Laroche when visiting Florida to write for the NEW YORKER about his arrest for stealing rare ghost orchids from a nature reserve. Fascinated both by Laroche & the world she uncovered of orchid collectors & growers, she stayed on, to write this magical exploration of obsession & the strange world both of the orchid obsessives & of Florida, that haunting & weird 'debatable land' of swamps & condos, retirement communities & real-estate scams. The world of the orchid hunters, breeders & showmen, their rivalries, vendettas & crimes, smuggling, thefts & worse provide the backdrop to a fascinating exploration of one of the byways of human nature, the obsessive world of the collector, & the haunting beauty of the flowers themselves. ...

Margaret Dempsey is an Irish Catholic girl who discovers sexual freedom in London but is racked with guilt
- until, with the help
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