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Acknowledgements and dedications..!

The other day I picked up a rather violent book by Harold Robbins. A book full of sex, orgies and fighting. I opened the book and had a look at the first page to see whom the author was going to thank and dedicate his bloodthirsty, savage and brutal book to. 'To my daughters Caryn and Adreana...' were the author's words, 'and may their world be filled with understanding, love and peace..!"

Was it banter, jest or ridicule that an author could dedicate a book of violence to his children and wish them peace? I decided that I would do a little study into some of the dedications that various authors had given to their books and came up with some howlers:

Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer of the early 1600s wrote, "The die is cast; the book is written, to be read either now or by posterity. I care not which. It may well wait a century for a reader, since God has waited 6000 years for an observer like myself".

An RKO director dedicated his first book thus: "To my wife, without whose absence this book could not have been written". And another whose praises for his spouse were more sincere wrote, "To Annabelle who toiled that I might spin my yarn".

Thomas R Marshal, vice president under Woodrow Wilson, who was a great admirer of the President wrote in his book, "To President Wilson from his only vice."

And this one from son to father.

Dr Arnold Katz, professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, is the son of Dr. Louis Katz, world famous director of the Cardiovascular Institute, in Chicago. The younger Dr. Katz's first research paper was dedicated "to my father without whose help, this paper was written".

And here's a good one.

Mark Hollinger always had a knack for avoiding the conventional. The acknowledgements at the end of his book, 'The Ten Million,' include: "To my wife, for permitting me to work, and for going out to the movies three times a week alone. To the Bing & Bing construction company for not building anything near my apartment for the past six months and to Saks & Co. for underwear that does not bind while seated before a typewriter".

Here's one by P.G. Wodehouse. P.G. had often confessed that when his daughter was a schoolgirl he tried out all his happy phrases and good situations on her before committing them to print. She was a ruthless critic, and many ideas lost their lustre when she delivered the terse verdict, "not funny". The dedication of one of his earlier books ran something like this, "To my daughter Leonara without whose constant aid and encouragement this book would have been written in half that time."

Dedication in 'Limericks Unlimited', by William Alsop, bore these words: "In a roundabout way this book is dedicated to me, because it is dedicated to my wife, who is dedicated to me..!"

Never knew there was so much humour even in the dedications and acknowledgements, did you..?

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