--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know what to say about this book…" description: "\"I don't know what to say about this book. The experience on which it is founded is so extraordinary, that an honest record of it should be preserved . ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book_1914413.png" --- # I don't know what to say about this book. The experience… ![“I don't know what to say about this book. The experience on which it is founded is so extraordinary, that an honest record of it should be preserved . . . But it would have driven me mad; and I am not sure that the author came out of it without a slight derangement.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book_1914413.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book_1914413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book_1914413.png) > “I don't know what to say about this book. The experience on which it is founded is so extraordinary, that an honest record of it should be preserved . . . But it would have driven me mad; and I am not sure that the author came out of it without a slight derangement.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author describes an overwhelming, almost maddening experience that must be documented despite its potential to destabilize him. **In simple terms:** A powerful experience must be recorded even if it risks insanity. Key Takeaway Preserve extraordinary truths despite personal cost. Themes truth madness recording legacy author experience Mood reflective serious introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing memoirs - documenting trauma - archiving history - psychological research - creative expression Key Concepts existential psychology literature memory truth Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance truth with mental health? - When should we preserve a story despite personal risk? A Different Perspective The account may be biased by the author's mental state, questioning reliability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Experience Founded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-founded-2902591/) [Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/) [Extraordinary Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-honest-2902588/) [Founded Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founded-extraordinary-2902590/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad/) [Not sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-sure/) [Record Preserved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-preserved-2902592/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Slight Derangement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slight-derangement-2902589/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [It has taken me nearly twenty years of studied self-restraint, aided by the natural decay of my faculties, to make myself dull enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-has-taken-me-nearly-twenty-years-of-studied-self-restraint-aided/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“I wasn't sure which was worse - to know you were a liar or to believe your own bullshit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/i-wasn-t-sure-which-was-worse-to-know-you-were-a-liar-or-to-believe/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [Some have suggested that ideally there must be some international body that would treat areas like the Arctic as a global commerce, a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/some-have-suggested-that-ideally-there-must-be-some-international/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Tal told me he loved me, and told me and told me, but you don't tell someone that and then tell them they're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/tal-told-me-he-loved-me-and-told-me-and-told-me-but-you-don-t-tell/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [I'm not sure why we want each other," she grumbled. "Nor am I, but the fact remains that we do want each other." "Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/i-m-not-sure-why-we-want-each-other-she-grumbled-nor-am-i-but-the/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [I'm not sure Betsy DeVos has ever spent a day in a public school. And I don't - I'm pretty sure Donald Trump hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/i-m-not-sure-betsy-devos-has-ever-spent-a-day-in-a-public-school-and/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [If you see someone lying out knives and forks consistently, but then one day those knives and forks become weapons you're not sure if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-fuqua/if-you-see-someone-lying-out-knives-and-forks-consistently-but-then/) [Antoine Fuqua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-fuqua/) > [Hollywood is finally waking up to the fact that people who go to church also go to the movies. I'm not sure what took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/hollywood-is-finally-waking-up-to-the-fact-that-people-who-go-to/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [I'm not sure whether it is me changing my mind, or whether I lie a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-m-not-sure-whether-it-is-me-changing-my-mind-or-whether-i-lie-a-lot/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [Photography is solitary and there are lags between seeing with your eyes and seeing through the lens, and then seeing the image on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-marclay/photography-is-solitary-and-there-are-lags-between-seeing-with-your/) [Christian Marclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-marclay/) > [I would always find a way to blow the deal and I'm not sure why. I think there was part of me that wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-would-always-find-a-way-to-blow-the-deal-and-i-m-not-sure-why-i/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [There is a nationwide shortage of drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder. The FDA says they're not sure how it happened. I guess somebody wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/there-is-a-nationwide-shortage-of-drugs-for-attention-deficit/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Ay-firmative,' Eve said, and tried for a smile. 'Sorry. An Aliens reference always makes me feel better at times like this. Exept I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/ay-firmative-eve-said-and-tried-for-a-smile-sorry-an-aliens-reference/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't know what to say about this book. The experience on which it is founded is so extraordinary, that an honest record of it should be preserved . . . But it would have driven me mad; and I am not sure that the author came out of it without a slight derangement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book-the-experience-on-which-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book-the-experience-on-which-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book_1914413.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book_1914413.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book_1914413.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't know what to say about this book. The experience on which it is founded is so extraordinary, that an…” — George Bernard Shaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't know what to say...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book-the-experience-on-which-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-this-book-the-experience-on-which-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```