The Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

The Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is the little brother to the better-known Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

The Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is a small volume, but still found to be stuffed full of useful quotations from the great, the good, the witty, the clever and some ordinary folk who said at least one thing in their life that was memorable enough for someone to write down or record in some way and for other people to say: "Gosh, I wish I had said that!"

The book is 476 pages in length and, although small, is, at 476 pages, quite a well-padded little volume. It is relatively easy to hold, yet I can't help wonder if it could have been just a few centimetres larger? Still, that's a minor quibble and a point that does not, ultimately, detract from the over all enjoyment and usability of this small volume.

The forwards to the first and fourth editions are included and in them the editor Susan Ratcliffe goes some way to explain the purpose of the book.

There is then a list of subjects that the book covers literally from A to Z. (Did you see what I did, there? a rather pointless and only marginally funny pun. Sorry!) From Ability right through to Youth. So in truth, it is not, exactly from A to Z.

Next comes the quotations, followed by a highly useful index of those people who are quoted within the tightly packed work.

There are quotes you will probably be familiar with, quotes which, now you know them, you will remember for the rest of your life and quotes which will serve a purpose in a wedding speech, a magazine article, a college essay or the like.

And for those of us who like to trawl through books like The Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, there are nuggets of pure gold and some that, although being nuggets of pure gold, are poignant and somewhat ironic.

For example in the section The Body artist, art lecturer and musician Ian Drury is quoted as saying:
"The leg, a source of much delight,
which carries weight and governs height,"

had problems with his legs due to suffering polio as a child. He sometimes had to take to the stage wearing leg irons in order to support his limb when it was particularly bad. (A minor point is that Susan Ratcliffe lists Drury as a British rock singer. He was, of course, much more than that!)

Also, we find that the Eton Boating Song lyrics were written by English poet William Cory.
There's a poem about entrails by poet Connie Bensley and you can find the source of the saying about 'death and taxes.'

The Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is a fantastic little book and will make an ideal gift for the student, the author, journalists or anyone who uses words in their day to day life. Well, just about anyone, I suppose.

The published price is £9.99 ($15.95 USA) but will be available for much less on Amazon.
The ISBN is 978-0-19-954330-4.

African History a Very Short Introduction

African History a Very Short Introduction, is a book in the "a Very Short Introduction" series of books from the Oxford University Press.

African History a Very Short Introduction, by John Parker and Richard Rathbone is a very interesting book.

The authors themselves point out that their task would be a difficult one. After all, it is known, or widely accepted, at any rate, that mankind originated in Africa some time ago. Some experts say 6,000,000 years ago. So... a history on that scale would be a stupendous and most daunting task!

The authors ask many interesting questions. What, exactly, is history? Can the Westernised idea of what history is be transferred to Africa? The authors do raise the very interesting point about oral histories, which are an important part of the cultures of many civilisations, including those in Africa who still value the old ways.

The book also deals with the concept of slavery and wonders if, as part of the history of Africa, the history of slaves and their descendants living in -for example, America- should be included in the history of Africa? An interesting concept, which the authors do not take very far. When I read this point in the book I realised if this were to be taken literally, as mankind originated in Africa and then populated the Earth, surely the whole 6,000,000 years of the history of the world's population should be considered as part of the history of Africa?

The book, for its size, is profusely illustrated with photographs, drawings and maps, all of which are very helpful to bring them to life.

Sadly, what history is related is that of cultural genocide, greed, indifference, hostility from outsiders and problems caused by the interference of people who thought they knew best.

It is a thoughtful and though-provoking little work which will be idea for students of the history of Africa (both ancient and modern) and there is an extremely useful guide to further reading on the subject.

The book is £6.99 the ISBN is 978-0-19-280248-4.  

Horrible Histories the Mad Miscellany

Horrible Histories the Mad Miscellany is another of the excellent books in the Horrible Histories library of books.

The book is precisely what it says it is: A distinctly dotty sort of a book which contains many and varied pieces of historical facts and information.

The book is separated into 31 different sections. Although the last section is a disclaimer which points out several key facts, such as an item in the book that is, in fact, a fiction, not a faction (sorry...) and there is also a very handy index, too.

What do we learn from Horrible Histories the Mad Miscellany? That the Romans used entire packs of attack dogs, which were dressed in canine suits of armour and then let off to do battle. Now, I must admit, I hadn't known that!

There's a section on gruesome games. It also helpfully points out why Romans called foreigners barbarians. Which I think I'd heard before, but can't swear to it.

It gives a page to the Roman gladiators, with each different type of gladiator illustrated with a very helpful line drawing. For those of us who believed that a 'gladiator is a gladiator' the news that there were, in point of fact, twelve different types or classes of gladiators might come as something of a surprise!

Pirates and their parrots also get their own section, as do some rather remarkable pirate flags. Some like those of Calico Jack and Henry Every both being variations on the traditional skull and crossbones, looked rather menacing, whilst others (Black Beard, for one) looked faintly risible, to be honest.

Also included is a remarkable set of rules by which pirates lived. Apparently the musicians on pirate ships were allowed Sundays as a day of rest. (Who knew pirate ships had musicians?)

There are also sections on historical hangings, murders and assassinations including the somewhat unsporting way that the Vikings dealt with Edmund, King of England. Although not mentioned in the book, I believe they performed the Blood Eagle on him. (Just check it out on Google...)

There's also duels that were deadly or dull, or sometimes both, and duels involving duelling women.

Historically greedy people are listed and seems to include mostly Roman Emperors. Funny, that!

There's also a section on medical matters including the cure for the common cold from the Middle Ages which called for mustard and onions to be inserted in the nose.

There's also a section of historically interesting rhymes including one about the Kaiser, and one about the murderer Mary Ann Cotton.

The book costs £9.99 from the Scholastic Press (ISBN 0-439-96803-8).

The Blackpool High Flyer

Driving or firing the Blackpool High Flyer was a plum job. The train went cross country from Yorkshire right through Lancashire to the North West coast of England, and the town of Blackpool.

But this was to be no ordinary journey. Jim Stringer, the steam detective, had thought that with his return from London, all the dangers and problems of being a railway detective were long gone and all in the past. But fate had different ideas!

It is only the quick reactions of Clive, the driver, that stopped a terrible catastrophe. Someone had left a millstone on the railway line. And one of the 512 passengers on the Whit Sunday Excursion Train to Blackpool dies as a result of the crash. Or did she die as a result of the crash? How, exactly, did she die? And who would have had a motive to kill her?

Was there a connection with the works outing that was taking place on the train? And if there was, what was the connection?

Jim Stringer thought that it was too much of a coincidence for the millstone to be placed on the track and for just one passenger out of 512 people on board to have died.

But how can Jim Stringer, now a former railway policeman, back in his more normal role of being an engine fireman, find out what had actually transpired?

If the same person had caused the death of the woman, how could they also have been responsible for the placing of the millstone on the railway line? And for what reason would they have wanted the woman passenger dead and what possible motive could they have had for placing the millstone on the railway line?

And who is it that means to see that this will be the last case that Jim Stringer, steam detective, will ever investigate? Are they linked to the mysterious person who left the millstone on the railway line? Or the person who had murdered the woman, if they were not the same person? Or is there another reason that Jim Stringer's life is in danger?

This is a very satisfying mystery novel as it does contain several concurrent mysteries. And all is certainly not what it seems!

It is written by Andrew Martin and published by Faber and Faber, the paperback version costs £7.99.

Where on Earth Can I...?

Where on Earth Can I...? tells you where you can do lots of different, interesting things, all over the world.

It is a fascinating book as it gives you many interesting and fantastic ideas of places you can go and visit and wondrous things that you can do in many different parts of the world.

It is separated into five different chapters. These are:

Natural Wonders
Animal Kingdom
Thrills and Adventures
Great Creations
Out of this World Experiences

There is then a further section on useful travel links, including a list of potentially useful websites.

Although the book is about fantastic and wondrous places you can visit and the exciting things you can do whilst you are there, the really curious thing is that there is not one illustration in the entire book! No photographs! Not even a single, solitary line drawing!

Even though one of the places to visit is described as being: "particularly photogenic". I am sorry, we, the readers, just wouldn't know about that. We haven't seen it, so do not know.

And there is a somewhat puzzling and bizarre omission in a book which is a travel guide. For although the author tells us of the excitement, the wonder and the joy of visiting or participating in -for example- an ancient goldmine, joining the running of the bulls, taking a tree top walk in Australia, staying in a rainforest reserve, seeing a synchronised firefly display, flying in a World War 2 Spitfire, visiting castles, or various film locations, dining in an underwater restaurant, etc., etc., the author -inexcusably, in my opinion, omits to mention the exact locations of these places, opening hours, booking information or even the contact details!

It's a curious book, interesting, but the rather shocking omissions will stop it from becoming a great book and a standard work for travellers, which is a pity.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary was not the first attempt at creating a dictionary of the English language, but it was the first serious attempt by someone who was a skilled lexicographer.

It was first published in the year of 1755. This new, latest edition, is not the full version, it is a special edited version produced by Jack Lynch, with selected highlights from the original work.

The original publication was 2,300 pages of definitions of words published in two volumes. So useful was it that it remained the definitive dictionary of English for at last 150 to 200 years. The Jack Lynch version is considerably smaller, one volume with only 646 pages.

The book starts with an introduction from Steven Leveen, the president of the Levnger Press, which explains why they decided to publish a new edition of the dictionary. There is also a fulsome three quarter page of acknowledgements from Jack Lynch, followed by 22 pages of introduction from Jack Lynch, including some basic guidelines of how to actually read the dictionary.

There is then a re-print of the original preface by Samuel Johnson, which goes much of the way to describe how and why he decided to take upon himself this Honorius responsibility to create THE English dictionary.

However, people must not form the conclusion that the dictionary only contains English words. There are numerous cross-references to Greek, Latin, French, Welsh, etc, throughout the dictionary, to help explain the derivation of the word in question.

The dictionary also has many words that are long gone from most people's everyday English. In fact some were heading a gentle decline even in the time of Dr Johnson himself.

As well as giving the definition of a word, Johnson also gave examples of it in use in literature, poetry, etc. A method still employed to this day in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Also we can see that some words have changed their usage over the year. For example, cadger meant a huckster, a person who brings butter, eggs, and from the market. We now have a totally meaning for that word.

To Cabbage was a slang (cant) word amongst taylors (sic) which meant to steal in cutting clothes.

I was intrigued to note that go-cart was included, though the description was somewhat different from the modern go-cart: "A machine in which children are inclosed (sic) to teach them to walk, and which they push forward without danger of falling."

There are other words that are no longer common, more's the pity! Belly-timber for food, and buffleheaded a man with a large head or someone who is dull and stupid.

Jack Lynch includes a bibliography and index, suggested reading material, etc.

In the UK it is published in hardback by Atlantic Press and costs £19.99.

Totally Weird and Wonderful Words!

Totally Weird and Wonderful Words is a book compiled and edited by Erin McKean, with rather splendid illustrations by Roz Chast and Danny Shanahan.

The book is published in paperback by the OUP at $14.95. (That's about £8.00) Why the OUP chose to put only the Dollar price on the cover is anyone's guess. As is the decision by the OUP to employ American English spelling in their books, but please do not get me started on THAT one!

As you would expect, the book is a mixture of odd, bizarre and entertaining words.

Is it a draffsack of odd and old words?

Or a logomachy, perhaps?

Read this book and you will discover words that you probably never even had the vaguest idea even existed.

Learn that a loon-slatt was a Scottish coin, that a lolling-lobby was a derisive term for a monk, that a gallinipper is a large mosquito, that dromaeogathous means having the palate of an emu, that dretch means to trouble in sleep, or to be troubled in sleep.

If someone has a fear of the dark it could be said that they are suffering from nyctophobia.

The book is a lot of fun and should while away the time should you be feeling somewhat wabbit.

Draffsack = a bag of garbage

Logomachy = fighting about words

wabbit = A Scottish word meaning exhausted or slightly unwell