NNDB: Tracking the entire world:

What is NNDB?

NNDB is an intelligence aggregator that tracks the activities of people we have determined to be noteworthy, both living and dead. Superficially, it seems much like a 'Who's Who' where a noted person's curriculum vitae is available (the usual information such as date of birth, a biography, and other essential facts.)

But it mostly exists to document the connections between people, many of which are not always obvious. A person's otherwise inexplicable behavior is often understood by examining the crowd that person has been associating with.

Eventually, we will have synopses and analyses of creative works by the people in the database, including their books, films, and recordings.

Found this while I was helping someone answer a question about a Michael Korda quote. She had two Michael Kordas on her radar: one born in 1919 "who was a famous publisher" and one born in 1933 "a novelist." Which Michael Korda said those words?

Well, the Michael Korda I knew of was the former Editor-in-Chief, Simon & Schuster, who retired last year at age 72. Korda has also written fiction and non-fiction, which I knew because of titles I handled back in the day when I was worrying about library book stock.

I gave her some links and told her I thought her quote was from Michael Korda (1933- ) and, specifically, more than likely from a book he'd written titled SUCCESS! How Every Man and Woman Can Achieve It (1977).

I went off wandering trying to find this other Michael Korda who also had something to do with publishing.

Never found him, but I did find NNDB, which seems from a quick trial run to be a useful tool.

The quote she was trying to pin down?

Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility. In the final analysis, the one quality that all successful people have is the ability to take responsibility.

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   posted by Sal Towse at  3:24 PM|| |