--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The brilliance of Max Brooks is that he…" description: "\"The brilliance of Max Brooks is that he always quotes authorities at the back of his books that never existed. Like a Russian professor he made up that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/mel-brooks-2308_always_the-brilliance-of-max-brooks-is-that-he_567493.jpg" --- # The brilliance of Max Brooks is that he always quotes… ![“The brilliance of Max Brooks is that he always quotes authorities at the back of his books that never existed. Like a Russian professor he made up that validates a story or character.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/mel-brooks-2308_always_the-brilliance-of-max-brooks-is-that-he_567493.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/mel-brooks-2308_always_the-brilliance-of-max-brooks-is-that-he_567493.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/mel-brooks-2308_always_the-brilliance-of-max-brooks-is-that-he_567493.jpg) > “The brilliance of Max Brooks is that he always quotes authorities at the back of his books that never existed. Like a Russian professor he made up that validates a story or character.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Brooks satirically highlights how fabricated references can lend false authority, critiquing the credibility of some storytelling. **In simple terms:** Fake citations can make stories seem more credible. Key Takeaway Question sources critically. Themes satire media literacy credibility Mood critical skeptical Type satirical educational When to use this quote - academic writing - journalism - creative writing Key Concepts fictional authority authorial deception Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify a source's authenticity? - What impact does false authority have on belief? A Different Perspective Readers may overlook the satire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brilliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [“Although she was a logical, practical person, she believed that in books there existed a kind of magic. Between the aging covers on these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christi-phillips/although-she-was-a-logical-practical-person-she-believed-that-in/) Christi Phillips > [“There was one panicked moment. He picked a book from the wall, and the shapes inside, all the letters, were friends to him; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/there-was-one-panicked-moment-he-picked-a-book-from-the-wall-and-the/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Coleman Jacoby and Arnie Rosen won an Emmy and Mel Brooks didn't! Niezsche was right! There is no God! There is no God!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/coleman-jacoby-and-arnie-rosen-won-an-emmy-and-mel-brooks-didn-t/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [My movies were not reaping the kind of emotional rewards that I wanted. I wanted them to be appreciated and they weren't. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-movies-were-not-reaping-the-kind-of-emotional-rewards-that-i/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I also try to surround myself with people I love - make a family out of the company. So I tend to use the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-also-try-to-surround-myself-with-people-i-love-make-a-family-out-of/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [There's an army story in me, and I think there's a WWII Brooks film somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/there-s-an-army-story-in-me-and-i-think-there-s-a-wwii-brooks-film/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [The audience. They see the name Mel Brooks, they want something really funny. They don't want to be moved; they don't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/the-audience-they-see-the-name-mel-brooks-they-want-something-really/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I never stepped foot into a Brooks Brothers before 'Mad Men.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-staton/i-never-stepped-foot-into-a-brooks-brothers-before-mad-men/) [Aaron Staton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-staton/) > [There are natures that go to the streams of life in great cities as the hart goes to the water brooks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gilbert-hamerton/there-are-natures-that-go-to-the-streams-of-life-in-great-cities-as/) [Philip Gilbert Hamerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gilbert-hamerton/) > [I've played with the best drummers in rock, ranging from Josh Freese to Brooks Wackerman to even Dave Lombardo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trujillo/i-ve-played-with-the-best-drummers-in-rock-ranging-from-josh-freese/) [Robert Trujillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trujillo/) > [Narrative should flow as flows the brook down through the hills and the leafy woodlands...a brook that never goes straight for a minute, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/narrative-should-flow-as-flows-the-brook-down-through-the-hills-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-this-our-life-exempt-from-public-haunt-finds-tongues-in-trees/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I'm a working-class former apprentice electrician; at the age of 14, if you'd told me I would one day be standing on a stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gordon-sinclair/i-m-a-working-class-former-apprentice-electrician-at-the-age-of-14-if/) [John Gordon Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gordon-sinclair/) > [Oh for a seat in some poetic nook, Just hid with trees and sparkling with a brook!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/oh-for-a-seat-in-some-poetic-nook-just-hid-with-trees-and-sparkling/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [I was a full time student either at Stony Brook or NYU getting my masters degree. After I graduated with my masters I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-algieri/i-was-a-full-time-student-either-at-stony-brook-or-nyu-getting-my/) [Chris Algieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-algieri/) ## More by Mel Brooks > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. 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Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... I'm surrounded by assholes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-knew-it-i-m-surrounded-by-assholes/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I was in the army, and to me it was like a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-was-in-the-army-and-to-me-it-was-like-a-newsreel/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/but-i-have-bad-taste-with-a-deep-fount-of-intellectuality/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > ['Mad About You' was very fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/mad-about-you-was-very-fun/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/immortality-is-a-by-product-of-good-work-masterpieces-are-not-for/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [If Ivan the Terrible had been kissed and loved between zero and three, he probably would have become Ivan Not So Terrible. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-ivan-the-terrible-had-been-kissed-and-loved-between-zero-and-three/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) [Explore all 173 Mel Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. 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