Proverbs encapsulate the wisdom of ages in a few words and in many societies are one of the most important means of teaching and passing on the culture’s values. The Tongue Can Break Bones: One Hundred Korean Proverbs is a multi-dimensional book of wisdom rooted in proverbs. It combines the wisdom of one hundred proverbs from Korea translated into English with the age-acquired and bicultural wisdom of the author, C. Bonaventure. Each proverb is presented in a self-contained essay that interprets the proverb in its Korean context, relates it to similar proverbs in English, and applies its wisdom to contemporary life. Bonaventure’s descriptions and reflections are often poetic. He characterizes Korean proverbs as gentle and subtle, comparing them to rolling hills, “as if the sharp edges have been worn down through continuous use over many years.” He also often probes the full implications of a Korean proverb to comment on current cultural practices. For example, in explicating the proverb Strong Plants in Strong Winds, he questions the philosophy of parents known today as helicopter parents. A retired scientist who has spent about half his life in Korea and half in the United States, Bonaventure is a native of Korea who came of age during the American military presence in his homeland after the Korean War. The topic of Korean proverbs has been in the back of his mind for almost forty years, since his sister sent him as a gift a set of loose-leaf pages titled “One Thousand Korean Proverbs.” This volume of reflections on one-tenth of those proverbs benefits from the experience of the author in both cultures and gives American readers an entry into an ancient civilization on the other side of the globe that most of us know little about.