Misc. Reference
The Concise Companion to the English Language is a language lover's dream. Tom McArthur unveils a thousand-page cornucopia covering virtually every aspect of the English language as well as language in general. He covers a variety of topics, from Abbreviations to split infinitives, and includes substantial entries on key subjects such as African English, etymology, Pidgin, poetry, sexism, and slang. In addition, the Companion provides bibliographies for the larger entries, generous cross-referencing, etymologies for headwords, a chronology of English from Roman times to 1990, and an index of peopple who appear in entries or bibliographies. Packed with delightful surprises, the Companion will be an invaluable resource and a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the English Language.
What immunizations do you need when travelling to Burkina Faso? Which movie won the Academy Award for Best Film in 1977? What is the mailing address in the U.S. for the Danish embassy? Who is the patron saint of booksellers? The Essential Desk Reference can help you find the answers to these questions--and thousands of others--in a matter of seconds.
Everything is covered--Roman emperors, the books of the Bible, the text of The Gettysburg Address, height and weight standards, mathematical terms and symbols, human anatomy, the rules of the sea, 50 major manned flights into space, and hundreds of other topics. The book provides extensive sections covering science and medicine, arts and leisure, prizes, work, and home. Numerous illustrations are riddled throughout the volume and each section ends with sources of information, making the Desk Reference an excellent starting point for further research.
Whether applying for a patent or simply browsing a list of famous inventors, The Essential Desk Reference is a resource that should always be within arm's reach. In an easy-to-use and affordable format, it offers a wealth of information on essential topics.
Everything is covered--Roman emperors, the books of the Bible, the text of The Gettysburg Address, height and weight standards, mathematical terms and symbols, human anatomy, the rules of the sea, 50 major manned flights into space, and hundreds of other topics. The book provides extensive sections covering science and medicine, arts and leisure, prizes, work, and home. Numerous illustrations are riddled throughout the volume and each section ends with sources of information, making the Desk Reference an excellent starting point for further research.
Whether applying for a patent or simply browsing a list of famous inventors, The Essential Desk Reference is a resource that should always be within arm's reach. In an easy-to-use and affordable format, it offers a wealth of information on essential topics.
Ever wonder what going on the wagon has to do with drinking? Why does extreme behavior take the cake? And did Americans' pocket change ever really include wooden nickels? Many of our most intriguing expressions grew out of once-familiar bits of American culture, the roots of which are now obscure. Respected linguist Rosemarie Ostler demystifies over 150 of these colorful homegrown figures of speech. She traces each saying from its first known appearance in print to its place in modern English, uncovering a host of cultural and historical tidbits along the way. Homegrown metaphors sprang up on American soil almost as fast as the colonists' first bean crop. Just as they learned new farming skills and adjusted to an unfamiliar diet, they shaped their language to fit their new situation. Expressions like to play possum and bury the hatchet are uniquely American -- they would hardly have made sense in the old country, where possums didn't exist and where hatchets were used only for splitting firewood. Ostler explains the rich history of figures of speech that grew out of the landscape and culture of North America. Much more than a list of phrases and definitions, Let's Talk Turkey is a lively and enjoyable exploration of how Americans developed their own inimitable style of speech. Expressions are arranged by cultural categories. These include some of our most bountiful sources for metaphor -- the great outdoors, business, entertainment, politics, cops and robbers, food and drink, and doing chores. The thoroughly researched entries reveal the latest etymological discoveries, along with charming and illustrative quotes. This entertaining, amusing, and very informative reference book is sure to captivate language lovers of all ages, as well as anyone fascinated with the byways and back roads of American lore.
What are the books that helped shape and define the last hundred years? This was the question put to the librarians of The New York Public Library as part of the Library's 100th anniversary celebration. Which books had influenced the course of events for good or ill? Which interpreted new worlds? Or delighted millions of readers? Their answers to these questions formed "Books of the Century," a highly popular exhibit during the Library's centennial celebration (1895 to 1995), highlighting an exhilarating collection of important works by some of the greatest writers of our times.
Now, the companion volume, The New York Public Library's Books of the Century takes readers on a thought-provoking tour of the last hundred years, through the medium of the printed word. Here readers will find over 150 pivotal works organized into topical categories, reflecting themes that have informed the century, among them "Mind & Spirit," "Protest & Progress," "Women Rise," or "Nature's Realm." Each is introduced with a brief commentary illuminating the themes and issues the books in that section address, followed by an annotation for each title offering a brief description and a key to its significance. The range of books is remarkable, embracing Chekhov's Three Sisters and Bram Stoker's Dracula, as well as Galbraith's The Affluent Society and Durkheim's Suicide, or Timothy Leary's The Politics of Ecstasy and W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk. Readers will find many illuminating juxtapositions. In "Utopias & Dystopias," for instance, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Lost Horizon are in the unexpected company of Nineteen Eighty-four, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, and The Time Machine. The century's darkest moments are mirrored in "War, Holocaust, Totalitarianism," where we find Koestler's Darkness at Noon, Hersey's Hiroshima, Anne Frank's Diary, and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. But the volume ends on a happier note, with "Optimism, Joy, Gentility," and such wonderful works as Helen Keller's The Story of My Life, Shaw's Pygmalion, Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
Illustrated throughout with imaginative paper cut-out murals by artist Diana Bryan, The New York Public Library's Books of the Century is a reflection of our times, featuring both the books we love--whether The Cat in the Hat or Ulysses--and books like The Surgeon General's Report or Mein Kampf that, for better or worse, have been an inescapable part of our century.
"For 100 years, the librarians of The New York Public Library have shared our passion for books with a diverse and literate public," said curator and editor Elizabeth Diefendorf. "That experience has given us a unique perspective in making our choices for the books of the century. We hoped that visitors to the exhibition, and now the readers of this book, will be drawn into our choices and reflect on what their own selections would be."
Now, the companion volume, The New York Public Library's Books of the Century takes readers on a thought-provoking tour of the last hundred years, through the medium of the printed word. Here readers will find over 150 pivotal works organized into topical categories, reflecting themes that have informed the century, among them "Mind & Spirit," "Protest & Progress," "Women Rise," or "Nature's Realm." Each is introduced with a brief commentary illuminating the themes and issues the books in that section address, followed by an annotation for each title offering a brief description and a key to its significance. The range of books is remarkable, embracing Chekhov's Three Sisters and Bram Stoker's Dracula, as well as Galbraith's The Affluent Society and Durkheim's Suicide, or Timothy Leary's The Politics of Ecstasy and W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk. Readers will find many illuminating juxtapositions. In "Utopias & Dystopias," for instance, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Lost Horizon are in the unexpected company of Nineteen Eighty-four, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, and The Time Machine. The century's darkest moments are mirrored in "War, Holocaust, Totalitarianism," where we find Koestler's Darkness at Noon, Hersey's Hiroshima, Anne Frank's Diary, and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. But the volume ends on a happier note, with "Optimism, Joy, Gentility," and such wonderful works as Helen Keller's The Story of My Life, Shaw's Pygmalion, Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
Illustrated throughout with imaginative paper cut-out murals by artist Diana Bryan, The New York Public Library's Books of the Century is a reflection of our times, featuring both the books we love--whether The Cat in the Hat or Ulysses--and books like The Surgeon General's Report or Mein Kampf that, for better or worse, have been an inescapable part of our century.
"For 100 years, the librarians of The New York Public Library have shared our passion for books with a diverse and literate public," said curator and editor Elizabeth Diefendorf. "That experience has given us a unique perspective in making our choices for the books of the century. We hoped that visitors to the exhibition, and now the readers of this book, will be drawn into our choices and reflect on what their own selections would be."
Widely known to professional researchers, writers, and editors, Ruffner's Allusions is a thematic dictionary that traces the cultural, literary, religious, and historical allusions found in the works of Shakespeare; the Bible and other religious texts; Greek mythology; American, European, and Eastern legends; and in music, the arts, business, comics, movies, radio, and television. Now in paperback for the first time, this new edition contains 3,500 new entries--making a grand total of 13,000 allusion entries divided into 730 thematic categories--and will be a helpful, authoritative resource for students and general readers interested in understanding the meaning of the many allusions found in everyday reading and speech.