From Notebooks to National Churchill Museum Permissions: The Making of a Serious Quote Book

John Robert Adair’s Just Saying: 1060 Utterly Fantastic Quotes is the product of an unusually patient and collaborative process. What began as personal notebooks kept after September 11, 2001, eventually drew contributions and permissions from museums, historians, theologians, military veterans, and ordinary friends and neighbors.

Among the institutions that assisted were the Hoover Dam Museum in Boulder City, Nevada, whose archives technician supplied both humorous and historical quotations, and America’s National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, which granted permission for several Churchill passages.

A neighbor who had kept seven college notebooks of quotations offered them for review; another lent two dozen issues of True West magazine for the Wild West section. A theologian neighbor reviewed the Faith & Forgiveness chapter; an international-finance professor examined the Business & Finance and Zen/Metaphysical sections.

Adair, a former industrial-supply entrepreneur, mortgage professional, and longtime community volunteer, is also the author of two earlier chess instructional books. His approach to the quotation project mirrors the same insistence on verification that appears in his chess writing: original sources preferred over secondary websites, and doubtful material discarded.

The finished volume reflects that care. Roughly one-third of the 1,060 entries carry brief annotations that provide context or correct the historical record.

The book’s thematic range is broad. It offers its readers sayings from the people on the subjects, such as patriotism, leadership, military history, Native American thought, sports, art, humor, and spirituality, yet the editorial voice remains consistent: respect for the original speaker and clarity for the contemporary reader.

In an era when social media accelerates the spread of misattributed and decontextualized quotations, Adair’s project stands as a quiet counter-example.

It treats the quotation not as disposable content but as a small act of cultural transmission that deserves accuracy, context, and careful presentation.

Just Saying: 1060 Utterly Fantastic Quotes is now available on Amazon in Kindle, eBook, and paperback formats, along with the author’s own website, booksbyjohnrobertadair.com