.. Book passage

When you head to the National Library (in the Civic District) the automatic receptionist is asking for the book or author name.

In Chinatown Detective Agency you are supposed to figure out these clues using resources outside the game. So, searching in the Internet.

The quote was:
"Of all men's miseries, the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing."

Try to search the Internet with that quote.
Always start your search with "-chinatown" to remove all direct answers for this game.