Unwritten Laws: The Unofficial Rules of Life as Handed Down by Murphy and Other Sages

by Hugh Rawson

Book Overview

CAPONE'S LAW. You can get a lot more done with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.LANCE'S LAW. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.MILLER'S LAW. The quality of food in restaurants is in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0785815430
• ISBN13: 9780785815433
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Booksales
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A Keeper

This is a book that may be the addendum to the classic, "everything I know, I learned in Kindergarten." A book of quotes or laws would have been boring , but the author includes such witty insights. "PARKERS OBSERVATION. men seldom make passes / At girls who wear glasses. POGREBIN'S AMENDMENT. Boys don't make passes at female smartasses." A book to treasure

The Dice Are Hidden

A wonderfully-crafted and edited collection of unwritten maxims -- many of which I have often improperly quoted -- Hugh Rawson's volume clears up many misconceptions and offers insightful historical anecdotes to amplify many of the "laws" than most of us live by (without acknowledging them).Perhaps the most metaphysical of all is "Haldane's Observation;" that God doesn't play with dice (echoed in Einstein's theory that all of the universe's movements/activities are ultimately understandable). Rawson cleverly adds Stephen Hawking's contradictory observation that God not only shoots dice, but that they often land where man can't find them.Totally enjoyable and entertaining, can be read straight through or left on the shelf as a "reference book," to be taken down as the occasion merits.Thom Kowalski

Witty and Informative

This book is full "field-tested" wisdom that I would suggest to anyone.

Wonderful title for training professionals!

I got a copy of this book from a local book store. What impresses me is Hugh Rawson's ability to locate the source of the "law". Reading this book is both easy and inspirational. As a management trainer, I found this book a great tool for my own REFLECTION:Do I have beliefs that is questionable? Have I investigated all aspects of the problem? Am I afraid of making mistake and looking stupid?These are the reflections I've come across while reading it at the bookstore (before I made the purchase, I've spent more than an hour reading it). While developing management training course, I often come across situations when I want to include something inspirational in the course manual. If this looks familiar to you, Rawson's book is for you. It literally has everything you need to know about "unwritten laws" from the infamous Murphy's Law to those of the great ancient Chinese thinkers.Get yourself a copy! Kelvin's Law: "You only miss those thing you've haven't done at the right time!"