[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Not quite everyone else. As well as the UK, all these countries also drive on the correct side of the road:

Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bophuthatswana, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Ciskei, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Seychelles, Sikkim, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Helena, St. Lucia, Surinam, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, US Virgin Islands, Venda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Wikipedia has a pretty map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3A...t_or_right.svg

Of the approximately 6 billion people in the world, about 4 billion (poor fellows) live in countries that follow Napoleon and drive on the wrong side of the road. About 2 billion (fortunate souls) live in countries that follow the British and drive on the left

And the tide has started to turn... on 7 September 2009 Samoa (population 189,000) became the first country ever to change from right- to left-hand driving. Three cheers for Samoa!

When I went on R&R to Sydney, Australia back in 1969, we were forbidden to drive while there. During my first cab ride, the logic behind that prohibition was driven home quickly. For someone who's been brought up to drive on the right side of the road, seeing cars turning left from a side street without regard of your approach to the intersection can be unnerving. No doubt those who have always driven on the left side of the road find the adjustment to driving on the right-hand side equally startling at first.

Back to books. This week the quotations thread inspired me to buy two books of quotations for the Kindle. Barrett's Book of Familiar Quotations is in the Kindle's To Be Read Collection. The one I started reading is The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations edited by Elizabeth Knowles. Wonderful stuff she has in there, but I'm perplexed by her inclusion of LBJ's "If I've lost Walter Cronkite, I've lost Mr. Average citizen" in the Introduction. It's my understanding that no one has ever been able to adequately source that quote.

I really wish The Great Quotations by George Seldes was available as an ebook. I've read it a couple of times cover to cover, and it's one of the best books of its kind anywhere. Quotations are longer, and give a sense of context. In addition, various differing viewpoints on controversial subjects are represented. Amazon, are you listening?