If many hands make light work, how can too many cooks spoil the broth? If you'll find the best advice on your pillow, are proverbs even useful? How come these nuggets of wisdom are so similar all over the world? In this compact book (knowledge takes up no space!), modern Irish painter Alice O'Neill takes a world-wide tour of more than 1,500 useful proverbs, comparing their similarities and contradictions, and revealing the secret patterns of human nature, common sense and human folly. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.