"Men take more pains to mask than to mend."--Benjamin Franklin. These and other sage words in a collection of the wisest sayings and most profound insights of our history.

Jerome Agel's more than forty major books include collaborations with Marshall McLuhan, Carl Sagan, Stanley Kubrick, Herman Kahn, and Issac Asimov. His most recent works include the nonfiction novel Deliverance in Shanghai and The U.S. Constitution for Everyone.