English Books

This book is intended for graduate students of English who might need to acquire a reading knowledge of Old English for their studies, but who are not necessarily knowledgeable in Indo-European linguistics or familiar with archaic, highly inflected languages.

The author begins with a simplified but fairly comprehensive grammar of Old English which runs about 40 pages, and covers pronunciation; an explanation of gender, number, and case(s); the forms of the definite and relative articles; strong and weak verbs; adjectives; nouns; additional sections dealing with more advanced declensions/conjugations of nouns and verbs; and i-umlaut.

I read the grammar several times initially, and returned to re-read several times as I progressed through the readings, to review some of the concepts. As an earlier reviewer noted, you don't want to rush through the introductory grammar in your haste to get to the Old English texts; only confusion and frustration will ensue.

I should note in respect to pronunciation that Prof. Diamond uses distinctive symbols to denote palatalized C and G, which allows the beginner to avoid having to check the rules constantly to determine if a given C or G needs to be palatized in its environment within a word. This allows the student to pronounce Old English with confidence from the beginning, and I found that I quickly internalized the use of palatalized C and G using this method.

The readings are interesting and challenging. They are printed with Old English on the left- and Modern English on the right-hand page, allowing the student to plunge right into reading Old English without memorizing long vocabulary lists, with minimal flipping back to the glossary. The readings are graded, increasing in complexity of grammar and vocabulary as one progresses, and also incorporate fewer word-for-word translations as the student is guided into Old English poetry; this makes the student work harder on translations as he/she advances through the readings, and prevents excessive reliance on the Modern English.

There is a full glossary in the back, which includes all divergent verb and noun forms for the student's convenience. For example, it lists "seoles", the genitive singular of "seolh"; and "slog", the preterite singular of "slean". For a beginner, these situations might otherwise be nightmarish, trying to feverishly determine the infinitive of the verb or nominative singular of the noun, sufficient to look it up and find its meaning.

This book fulfilled my fondest hopes, allowing me to gain a reading knowledge and proper pronunciation of Old English in a relatively short period of time, and I highly recommend it.

This is the first Old English grammar I studied, nearly 25 years ago, and it remains perhaps the best one-volume introduction to Old English around. Concise, simple, and accessible, this text has both a reader and a grammar in one cover, containing selections from the major Old English poems and prose works.

The prose works include 'The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan', selections from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the preface by Alfred the Great to the medieval work on Pastoral Care by Pope Gregory. There are relatively few Old English prose works that have survived into the present day; there are even fewer authentically Old English pieces, as many Old English prose works are in fact translations of Latin pieces, and for some reason adapted their grammar to the Latin original rather than the Old English natural pattern.

The poetry exhibits the paired-verse pattern (although the translations accompanying them do not strive to keep the metrical pattern). The poetry include majors works such as Caedmon's Hymn, The Battle of Brunanburg, The Battle of Maldon, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, maxims, riddles, and other poems. There is no Beowulf contained here, nor any other heroic poems (such as Deor), as Diamond states that these are the most likely follow-up readings after one gains a grounding in Old English, and the poems contained here are often overlooked by students save for the most dedicated of scholars.

The texts here are normalised to Early West Saxon dialect, with a grammar very simplified; concepts are introduced that are directly useful for the texts contained herein. The glossary is similarly normalised, and cross-referenced for various verb forms and other vocabulary links such as prefixes and alternatives. In a remarkable insight on how students use texts, Diamond states that, for the purposes of this introductory text, notes have been eliminated, as students rarely refer to them anyway. The section on metrics introduces the five principle types of verses, as well as some minor variations.

Diamond includes a brief bibliography with dictionaries, grammars, commentaries and more; this is now somewhat out of date, but also shows the slow pace at which some aspects of Old English scholarship proceed, with references going back to volumes published in the late 1800s.

A very useful and fun text from which to learn!

I bought both Prof. Diamond's Old English Grammar and Prof. Baker's Introduction to Old English after checking them out from my local library. They are both excellent works, but I prefer Prof. Diamond's book for a couple of reasons.

First, although trivial, I have learned other inflected languages such as Greek and Latin and they always present noun declensions for the various cases in the following order: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, etc. Prof. Diamond presents noun declensions in the same way while Prof. Baker's book presents them in the order nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, etc. It throws me off just enough to be irritating when I am trying to memorize the case endings.

Second, as mentioned in other reviews, Prof. Diamond presents translations with each text. This makes it possible to learn a few words and them jump straight into the texts without having to guess whether or not you understood the various pieces.

Prof. Baker's book has its merits such as its companion website and its more detailed discussion of grammar, but I would recommend starting to learn Old English with Prof. Diamond's book.

One more point - if you are considering buying both keep in mind that many of the literary samples in both overlap so if you buy Prof. Baker's book you should buy it because you want a better understanding of grammar not because you want more samples of Old English.

I was lucky enough to take Old English, Old Norse and Beowulf in old English from Dr. Diamond at the University of Nevada, Reno. What a wonderful teacher... His book was a wonderful introduction to Old English.

A must for all Asatru Folk who need to learn Old English. The smart idea the writer has is to skip the Latin transations and to only use poems written in Old English, this way you learn the words as well as the grammer. Wyatt Kaldenberg

Zen Master Ryokan!
Like a fool, like a dunce
Body and mind completely dropped off!

This is another great translation of Ryokan by John Stevens. So many in their reviews have shown their respect and love for Ryokan who "is replete with MUSHIN, the mind without calculation or pretense, and MUJO, the sense of impermanence of all things".
Ryokan (1758? -1831) was a Japanese poet, Zen buddhist and one of the greatest calligraphers of all time in East Asia. In his early twenties he became the disciple of top Soto Zen Roshi Kokusen and trained diligently as a Zen monk. When Kokusen died in 1791, Ryokan left on a long pilgrimage, wandering all over Japan. In his early 40s he drifted back to his native place and spent the rest of his life in mountain hermitages. Near the end of his life he fell in love with a beautiful young nun Teishin who was by his side when he died at age 73. His hermitage Gogo-an on Mount Kigami still stands.

One Robe, One Bowl contains translation of his 100 chinese and 103 Japanese poems(101 Waka and 2 Haiku). Many of his poems are without titles and doesn't give us a reference to the time and place they were written. Ryokan frequently broke the rules of poetry composition. His poems are simple, direct and very poignant. His poetry is about love of nature, local children, rice wine and living a simple life. His beloved Teishin compiled the first edition of Ryokan's poems, titled Hachisu no Tsuyu ("Dew drops on a Lotus Leaf") four years after his death, which has also been brilliantly translated by John Stevens.
Both these books are a must read. Ryokan's poems refresh you, make you look around and under your feet. You notice everything from sun to clouds, birds and insects, trees, wind and rain, and his great love - Moon. I highly recommend reading them in a natural spot, where there are trees, flowers, flowing water and birds. You will find yourself drifting in and out of his poems and nature and back. Almost surreal.

Once you have read them again and again, add to your collection Ryokan's favorite poet, the Chinese sage Han Shan (Cold Mountain), also available on Amazon.

I bought this book because I was giving a talk on Ryokan and his poetry. It was wonderful to be able to share his poems with others and to have this treasure of a book for myself as well. His poetry is so simple and yet so profound and has universal appeal whether or not one has a background in Zen.

The words of Ryokan point to the heart of Japanese esthetics and spirit. You can not part the Zen attitude in most of his poetry from the very essence of his comprehension of nature and man. One of my favorite waka he'd written is :

Early spring - picking vegetables
a pheasant cries-
Old memories return.

The Wabi- Sabi mood and the Miyabi atmosphere are well recognizable in his poetry, and make the whole reading experience something much more intimate with his emotions and thoughts.

Another one of my favorite among Ryokan's waka songs is :

Lying in my freezing hut , unable to sleep;
only the quite roar
Of water pouring over a cliff.

Reading his book even a song a day will make you want to meet the good hearted Ryokan and share some tea with him in a cold winter day..
sure made me want to...

Ryokan, One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan (Weatherhill, 1977)

"Who says my poems are poems?
My poems are not poems.
When you know that my poems are not poems,
Then we can speak of poetry."

Ryokan, nineteenth-century Japanese Zen poet and monk, was either somewhat addled (an hypothesis which his eccentricity lends itself to) or was acutely aware that some of what he wrote simply didn't qualify as poetry. Most of it, however, did; his haiku, waka, and other traditional forms are often exquisitely rendered images of his life as a hermit, a beggar, and a man lonely even while those in the town in which he begged for rice loved him dearly. Often, his work is short, to the point, and lovely, showing the reverence for both nature and language that the best Japanese poets seem to feel as naturally as you or I breathe:

"Down in the village
the din of flute and drum;
here deep in the mountain
everywhere the song of the pines."

But, every once in a while, as with the piece that opens this review, he simply ignores everything he knows (and we know) about poetry and jots down a thought or a koan broken into short lines. Thankfully, there are far fewer of these than there are actual poems in this collection, and so it's worth your time; be prepared for a slight inconsistency in quality, though. ***

What a beautiful work this is all around. John Stevens translates this work brilliantly. This isnt a cold hard scholastic translation. This is a warm and touching work from two people, from two very different times, meeting at the heart of a timeless matter. There are a lot of reviews saying great things about this book. It lives up to all of them and more.

This book is full of poems touching on the completely ordinary matter, of everyday life. This everyday life wich contains everything we need/yearn for, yet almost always overlook. Ryokan was sort of an anti-establishment Zen student. Since establishments often usurp power and any value from things like Zen, leaving only inflated ego's ruling over cynical minds. Needless to say Ryokan wanted no part of this. Wich is why he lived mostly alone in the often freezing mountians.

He often writes of sheer loneliness. Wich makes some people question his enlightenment. I think this is a very important point. Cause it shows how cold and unbending some peoples view of Zen/enlightenment actually is. Whos to say an enlightened person cant feel lonely? Because Japans greatest master Dogen never wrote of lonliness? Many masters of the past lived in monasteries full of students. If anything they probably had very little time alone. Nowheres near enough time to develope any "lonley feelings." Hardly a fair comparison, that of Ryokan who lived in a little mountain hut, to a master of hundreds of disciples. Silly, but it doesnt seem to be too rare. I think this same thing that makes some Zen scholars cricital, is what makes Ryokan so beloved by everyone else who knows of him. He not only felt a gamut of emotions but completely accepted them as a dynamic part of life. Often writing beautifully about them as in this book. Ryokan shows us a Zen life doesnt have to be a sterile and emotionless one.

Thats not to say he was a complete hermit, he was very fond of the common man especially the children of surrounding villiages. Wich is what these poems are all about. Playing with the children in the "grasses" (he was sometimes criticized by other adults for this.) Walking along uneven mountain trails. Gazing at misty bamboo groves with various creatures scurrying about. Drinking sake with the villagers from time to time. Gathering supplies for his mountain hut. Writing poems and/or caligraphy for people when they would visit his him.

These are the everyday events as well as many others wich these poems speak of. You will feel as if you are sitting next to Ryokan while hes writes of the moon shining through the window, or the smoke rising from a single stick of incense.

Although Ryokan was a Zen master in his own right, he isnt lecturing or preaching anything in his poetry. He never seemed to talk of Zen, practice or philosophy (although he seemed to take his own practice seriously.) His poems will appeal to anyone for there descriptive naturalness and down to earth feel. In a few simple lines, Ryokan shares his fascinating daily life with us. I would highly recommend this book for anyone even halfway into poetry or a spiritual and aware life. Poetry at its best. Enjoy!

everthying in the painless series is great well worth the price. great for kids and adults.

I'm really fired up! Painless Writing does help us get rid of turgid and stilted way of writing, that's for sure. This must save us a lot of waste which annoys readers. I noticed that shorter and more concise sentences come before longer and wordier ones. I haven't finished reading it yet, though. Especially, too many prepositions and passive voices get on my nerves and dilute my enthusiasm for reading. For example, what if your boy/girlfriend said,"You are loved by me."? How lame! I would be embarrassed and run away! Do you know why? - It sounds too formal to suit the situation. In short, it's an automatic turn-off! From this example, I'm sure you will put plainness before wordiness.
Overall, I bet you can say good-bye to the repetition of wordiness!

My instructor never gave assignments to use the book, but reading through was easy and understanding.

Painless Writing covers pace, rythym, and writing mechanics - and so much more. To writers who want to teach yourselves, this book should be at the top of your list because it unveils the "secrets" of making text appear seamless.

Strausser conveys information in an organized and comprehensive way: he offers websites and stand-out text boxes for easy reference.

Finally, pay attention to the "before" and "after" text examples. Stausser shows a poor example, then an improved one - to reinforce the chapter lesson. Outstanding guidePainless Writing (Painless Series).

Painless Writing helped me prepare for the Writing Section of the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) exam. The THEA tests your impromptu writing skills. Painless Writing explains nine techniques that improve your writing. I used these techniques and easily passed the test.

What I like most about this book are the numerous examples and tips given for each technique presented. If you are preparing for the THEA exam or writing a high school essay, Painless Writing is an excellent reference book to have!

I'm surprised to be recommending a book about an alcoholic middle aged mum so enthusiastically, but if you read Paula Spencer and don't love it, there's a good chance you're an idiot.

I didn't pick this up for a couple of weeks after I bought it - I wasn't ready for what I thought might be a dark read, but I needn't have worried. I'm sorry to have finished it.

Not much happens in this book, but that doesn't seem to matter. We're stuck in Paula's head for the length of this novel--an amazing place to be stuck. The smallest movement forward feels huge for Paula and just as huge for the reader. The book is deeply compassionate, tender, sad and unforgettable.

A couple of other reviewers have told what story there is to this novel,so I won't try to enlarge on it.
Really,there is not much story at all.What we see; is what life is like to a woman who has not have an easy time of it ;and that is an under statement.
Paula,is now 48,and she has lived what should have been the best years of her life,and we are taken right into her heart and soul for a year or so.
It is not pretty,but Paula is not defeated by remorse or even worrying about why her lot is what it is. All she wants to do is "get along" and even the least amount of joy she is able to have,she is thankful for. Though she is never envious of others,and she has every reason to be, she takes each day as it comes.Will tomorrow be better? Who knows,Paula now lives her life, entwined with her few close friends and disfunctional family,one day at a time.Despite it all,she hasn't an enemy in the world.She doesn't even carry a bit of hatred in her heart for her now dead abusive ex-husband.
No doubt,Doyle shows what a life some people lead.Of course,many women's lot in life is worse than Paula's and many's lot is better.But this is Paula's .There is always hope,and without that ,what is there to live for?

I have been waiting for YEARS for the BBC series based on these books "Family : Paula, Charlo, Nicola, John Paul" to be released on DVD, please, please, release this series in the United States so we can have this... the books from Roddy Doyle on Paula Spencer have been fantastic, I highly recommend them.....

for those of you who have not seen this series based on the book, demand it be released on DVD....

"Paula Spencer," published about a decade later than its prequel, "The Woman Who Walked Into Doors," is a quieter, but just as moving, story. The reader, who was introduced to Paula as a working class Irishwoman struggling with alcoholism and an abusive husband, now finds her recovering from alcoholism but still coping with family problems, after her husband passed away. She has a job cleaning houses, which has its perks, she winds up seeing the White Stripes in concert. The book's scenes center around her attempts to reconcile with her four children, two of whom are addicts, and relationship with her sisters, who are dealing with trials of their own.

This book is less dramatic (no murders or first person descriptions of abuse) but equally black humored and engaging. Recommended.

This book should be the first resource to which you turn if you need to write a persuasive document.

Although this book is directed towards business writers, the information in it is just right for understanding the psychology and techniques of persuasion. I used the book extensively for developing grant proposals (for higher education) and saw my success ratio double. As a result, I won more backing and my colleagues are still asking how I did it.

The author makes good points that produce good results, from his pointers on style and jargon to his mini-primers on formatting. Sant is absolutely at the head of the class.

Rereading the reviews of this book, I was surprised by the one negative review of this book by Tony DaGiau. No surprise! Turns out that he runs some solo consulting company that competes head on with the Sant Corporation, Tom Sant's company! If Tony writes a book on dirty tricks, it'll be worth reading. Other than that, stick with Sant's book (and, if the book is any indication, Sant's company).

Tom Sant has put together one of the single best books on proposal writing. Whether you are responding to a bid request or just designing a basic proposal the book is filled with tips for getting the winning contract. Everything is covered here. There are examples of bad proposals and details of what is wrong with them, examples of how to make your proposal stand out from the others and even a primer on the basics of persuasion. It is well organized and flows well from the beginning to the end of the process not only defining what should be done but why you are doing it. This knowledge gives you the ability to adapt to unusual situations instead of just using a boilerplate method for all your contracts. It even comes with a small but thorough checklist in the appendix to make sure that you have left no stone unturned in creating the proposal.

There is however, one point that I would like to have seen added to the book. At the last of the book he emphasizes the importance of editing your proposal. When you are done then read it again as a whole to see that it contains continuity, check it for spelling errors, check it for grammar errors, etc. Read it from front to back two or three times to make sure that you catch everything so that you don't lose credibility with your audience. While I agree totally, on long proposals I also start from the back section and read the sections from back to front. Why? As you are rereading for editing your attention to detail tends to decrease and you become more careless after a certain point. Starting from the back sections gives you a chance to read those sections while still fresh. Does it work? Well let's take a look at his book itself. No errors jump out at me until page 178 where the word "about" is spelled "abut". Well if that is the only problem then he has still done well. Then I got to page 186 where he has an example of a badly worded item. After showing the better wording the book states "That's a little better, isn't it? A little easier to understand the first time through?" Obviously he meant to say that it is "easier to understand THAN the first time through". And then a third error on page 188 where he is discussing the importance of using "complement" and "compliment" correctly. But during the discourse he actually spells "complement" as "conplement". A perfect discourse that suddenly has three errors within ten pages.

This is still a fantastic book on the details of how to write a proposal, things to do, things to avoid, how to persuade, how to focus the proposal or contract, etc. It belongs on the shelf of anyone who writes proposals and contracts or any form of communication, which involves convincing other people to see your position. I even successfully used the information in the book to detail the current status and proposed direction of a mishandled project and was able to win the client back and keep the contract.

Tom Sant's structure and approach to proposal writing and responding to RFP's has already helped me win more business. BY following his methodology, my proposals are far more persuasive and client-centered. It is a quick read, and gives you more than enough examples and some humor. If you write proposals, this is the book you need. Sant also has award winning software that follows the structure of the book and helps automate the proposal and RFP response process.

This book is a must for everyone who has to write a proposal. It gave me some great ideas and different ways of writing, so my proposals were much better. The book is easy to read and I started to implement Sant's ideas immediately. I also hear that his company has very useful software to help automate proposal writing as well.

This book is a good buy even if you don't really plan to read a poem a day. This book is an excellent anthology that shouldn't be missed. As a student, I know that some poetry books can have some bad choices, but this book is not like that. Every poem is good and makes you think. You won't be sorry if you pick this book up.

I simply LOVE this book and pick it up every day to read a poem---that's how good it is. It's turned me on to many new poets and renewed my acquaintances with the old favorites. I was happy to see this gem on page 278 by Raymond Carver:

"And did you get what--- you wanted from this life, even so?--- I did.--- And what did you want?--- To call myself beloved, to feel myself--- beloved on the earth."

The power of the words shine through: the power of words to heal, strengthen, uplift, comfort, hurt, wound, enrage, succor and rejuvenate! This book is a celebration and a joy to read.

I enjoyed reading the words to Leonard Cohen's, "Suzanne Takes You Down", a favorite song from my past.

The poem, "from Jubilate Agno" written by Christopher Smart in the 1700's while in an insane asylum (about his cat!) was awesome and a must read for EVERY cat lover.

"The Falcon to the Falconer" by Jonathan Steffen blew me away. Here's a few lines:

"Unleash me from your hand--- And I will lance the light for you--- I'll cut a swordblade on the wind--- And pennant it with flight for you--- To signal I am yours--- If you will free me to be true to you. . ."

I could go on and on! I'm so happy that I found this book and recommend it highly!

If you like to read, you will delight in the book. If you enjoy words, you will revel in this book. "A Poem A Day" should be the next book in your library!

It does not matter if you have enjoyed poetry before today, because this is a splendid collection of poems especially selected to touch and tickle you. Poems of love and nature and joy and mundane; you will find yourself in these words.

The editors, Karen McCosker & Nicholas Albery, have done a wonderful job of selecting interesting and intriguing poems. The footnotes alone make the book worth the price because they only serve to draw you into the poets life, or experiences, or work.

I do not own or write poetry. I like words and reading. I love this book.

Read 'A Poem A Day.' You will regret not having this book yesterday.

This book, "Poem A Day", edited by Karen McCosker and Nicholas Albery has become a permanent fixture on my nightstand. It is filled with long forgotten favorites and new(to me) poetry that always stir me in some way.There are odes, sonnets, play excerpts and wonderful poetry to find a little escape and add something special to your day or night. Several from giants like Shakespeare, Shelley,Kipling,Bronte,Browning(Elizabeth and Robert),Emerson,Dickinson,Wordsworth,Tennyson,Plath are sprinkled throughout, and have a note pad and pencil ready, because you are sure to find new favorites, you will want to check out more closely as well.
Whatever your mood, you'll find just the right verse here. Romance, humor, deep thoughts, dirges,song lyrics, great play quotes and much more.

The poems, which range from olden days to contemporary, follow the calendar. Each day has it's own special entry, and has notes on the Author or the poem itself and usually has some special meaning for that particular day. For example, from Hamlet - Act III, Scene I, the great and celebrated soliloquy("To Be or Not To Be....") is given the March 16th page - "On this day in 1976, a performance with Albert Finney in the lead role opened the National Theatre in London, some 25 years after work on the building first started....."
Or on February 11th..Sylvia Plath's poem "Words", you not only get to drink in the beautiful poem but also learn that -"On this day is 1960, exactly three years before taking her own life Sylvia Plath had written to her mother and brother with news of her first book of poems, 'The Colossus', being accepted by Heinemann. 'Amaze of Amaze', she wrote.

So the book, not only serves to give the reader the beauty of the words of the Author's themselves, but on every page, you'll learn something new about your favorite. It will also open new doors to others you may be just discovering. The editors encourage you to study your favorites and make them your own. You can take just one a day,linger with your favorites, enjoy the pleasures to be found in the words, and maybe even take the time to memorize it. Or read several a day, whenever the mood strikes. There are treasures inside you can savour and then return to anytime.

A year's worth of wonderful poems, a lifetime to cherish. And yes, you even get one for February 29th - "Time Is..." by Alan Beam, born Feb 29th 1948
Enjoy....Laurie

I have been very pleased with this anthology, which is absolutely for people who love good poetry in a variety of forms and styles. Great selections by Yeats, Hopkins and Blake, and many poems that you may - like me - have loved once and lost, plus some that are less familiar but great finds. Happily no Rod McKuen or Susan Polis Schulz and also, happily, no T.S. Eliot. In other words, nothing mediocre, but also nothing effete and academic. McCosker is obviously very widely read, very open-minded, and has a love for the musical, the meaningful and the memorable. The notes on the poets are very good reading. Let's hope it will inspire some good poetry writing in the next generation!

A smart, fast read, but also practical and frank. Usable advice on query letters, proposals, networking, when to self-publlish and how to negotiate.

This is a nice place for prospective non-fiction writers to start investigating the process of what it takes to get published. A quick and easy read, the book's main benefit is as a reality check to knock the naiveté out of prospective authors. To be sure, pretty much everything Brown discusses is covered by other books on the topic, however, these often spend far too much time getting to the point and/or offering various bits of writing advice that aren't really germane to the nuts and bolts of getting a book deal. Quite properly Brown assumes you can write; and while his brevity is often a good thing, sometimes the rapid pace and flip tone leads to broad generalizations that can be slightly misleading.

He comes at the topic with a wealth of personal experience, having published some twenty or so books with a variety of major publishing houses. Despite this, his perspective is rather limited -- as a former financial writer (for Inc. and Forbes), all but one of his books are business titles. And the reality is that business non-fiction is a slightly different beast, and the lessons learned there can't necessarily be extrapolated to other nonfiction genres. Business books tend to be what Hollywood calls "high concept", that is, all about a central, easily grasped premise, and generally not particularly nuanced. So while much of this "insider's guide" is certainly useful for all prospective writers, some of the advice is very hard to apply to other nonfiction genres.

Similarly, Brown downplays the extent to which his existing position as a journalist smoothed the path to the book world. He advocates a stepped process to approaching editors with one's pitch: start small with a query letter, then if you get a nibble, send a brief (around 3 page) mini-proposal, and then, only as a last resort, put together a proper full-scale proposal. While there's certainly logic to avoiding the substantial work of putting together a full proposal, a writer with his background (especially when working with a "name" co-author) can get away with the approach. whereas 99% of the readership for this book cannot. Probably the worst advice in the book is on page 52, where he argues against sending a full proposal even when an editor has responded "tell me more in writing." If an editor tells you this, you'd better come back with as complete and polished a pitch as possible, because if they're not impressed, they may not give you another chance.

The other aspect of full-blown proposals Brown doesn't acknowledge is that the process of creating the proposal will help you immeasurably in honing your idea and pitch -- and may well lead you to realize you can't write the book. Which is not to suggest that Brown doesn't like proposals -- he includes a complete one of his, and has annotated it with copious footnotes pointing out areas for improvement. This "peering under the hood" is a very strong part of the book, and is well worth examining (even though I actually don't like some of the proposal's arrangement).

Generally, whenever I read a book on this topic, I will jot down the few ideas from it that I found particularly unique or compelling. I didn't do that once with this book -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I've already read a lot on the topic, and thus have a good store of material. But this would make a great first book to read on the topic, as long as one recognizes its limitations and reads a few others for more perspective and depth.

I bought this book last Friday afternoon, and had read it entirely by the late evening - I could not put it down.

Not only is it filled with information to help get your first non-fiction book published, it is written in a thouroughly approachable and enjoyable style.

That "memo" is mentioned in the appendix about how this particular book came to be, and I thought it was cool to title a review like that.

Not mentioned in the above little summary is the "snide editorial comments by Ellen Kadin" (on the cover) which are dispersed throughout the book. Ellen Kadin is AMACOM's editor, an independent (and funny) voice to let you know how accurate Paul B. Brown really is. Most, but not all of them are affirmations...but they are all funny. If someone (like me) got the book from a library right next to all those traditional Chapter 6-1/2 books, you might want to skip the her annotations if you are actually reading it _in_ the libary, because you are likely to make enough noise (laughing, cussing, or both) to get dragged out by security...fortunately, I am good friends with my library's security.

With insight and irreverence Paul Brown lays it all out for aspiring writers. He takes you from book proposal to agent to publisher to promotion.

That's all that a would-be nonfiction author could want. He'll tell you things you don't want to hear, but must know in order to make your foray into writing a success.

Brown has endured book ideas that were rejected and books that didn't sell, along with a perennial best-seller Customers For Life.

If nothing else Brown knows his trade when it comes to publishing nonfiction books.

I'd like to point out errors in his 'Nontraditional Approaches' but from my observations, Brown is correct more than I'd like to say.

And, when he has a question, he knows where to go to find the answers, which, of course, he shares with readers.

If you don't like the idea of pitching book ideas to publishers, then maybe being an author isn't for you.

If you don't like the idea of a 40 to 50 page book proposal, Brown will explain why it's in your best interest to get through it, or scrap your idea of a nonfiction book deal.

If you want a bigger advance - and why you should try to get the most you can (besides the obvious reason) - are nailed by Brown in Publishing Confidential.

If your idea is to write a nonfiction best seller, then Brown's book will save you a lot of time, and serve as your tour guide.

You may not write the next top selling business book, it's not a guarantee, but Brown's book will help you get through it with his `insider's guide to what it really takes to land a nonfiction book deal.'

Brown delivers.

THIS GUY IS MY ENGLISH TEACHER!
Mr. Simmons is fricken' cool.
He's really funny, and I'm not lying. =]

<3 Corinne

Shawns poetry is some of the best slam Ive seen! He is an amazing poet, and ahs shown me what it takes to be a good poet! His book is great and really hits at some great topics! He speaks the truth, and doesnt care what people think of it...its just great stuff!!!

Shawn is awesome. His performances rock. He was my camp counseler this summer! His stuff is really deep, and it touches me. Some of my favorites are "Welfare Cheese" and "Angels". He is amazing.

I saw this dude at a show in philly. I can't believe the book was as good as the performance. Anyone know if simmons has a new book coming out, i am first in line!

I saw Simmons perform not too long ago and bought this book instantly. He took my breath on stage and on the page. If your thinking about buying this book- stop thinking- buy it. I was a little disappointed that some of the poetry I saw performed wasn't in the book. Looking forward to a second collection...

Oxford University press is currently undertaking the massive editorial work required to finish this ground-breaking four-volume set that was started more than 25 years ago. The third volume, covering the alphabetic range of P through Sk, is due to appear in March 2007. Volume IV, covering Sk through Z and including a bibliography of tens of thousands of items, is planned for two years later.(...)

I'm an American slang bug and that's why I'm just chafing at the bit to browse next volumes of this undoubtedly the very best and most comprehensive and authoritative complete on-going dictionary of slang. A lot has been already said and written 'bout this work hence I'm lost for new words of appreciation. On the other hand, however, dear editors, mercy on us, you can't just now dump this big project halfway thru editing thus leaving us, all American slang lovers throughout the English-speaking world in the lurch. There's a glitter of hope, as I heard, to cooperate with Oxford University Press. OK! Go ahead and good luck then but let these words be soon followed by real actions. Sincerely Alex

murdered by the media

These words are no longer in use, as we no longer converse truly and freely as a nation of English and slang speakers

This volume is little more than a nostaligic curio, like Dr. Johnson's dictionary, or the great Ambrose Bierce's better.

The only English slang currently in use is that receptive vocabulary emitted by our media, and not expressive nor creative as our one way media permits no conversation. We are made to listen, to hear, to receive, only. The internet alone allows literacy, and look at the level of written speech there. Yet even there the formerly great oral tongue is lost.

The most vibrant languages heard throbbing through our land are now those not dictated by our anglo media. There alone does the uniquely human aural ability live and breathe. And thus this massive dictionary properly fades away unfinished.

In any case, what anglo librarian would permit its presence in a library?

Intriguing for historical reasons alone. Not useful for comprehending the language one actually hears around oneself, as no living and present language is heard. Just dust off your old Lord Buckley collection instead, or the Mercury recording How To Speak Hip. Not even riding the city bus helps anymore.

Forty years ago our Amrican language was still richer, more diverse, more playful, more subtle. Now we have only whitely phosphorized talking heads bleating how we must speak and thus how we must think, and by limiting our vacabulary limiting our capacity for free thought. Our only hope is a healthy jolt of James Joyce and the trembling Twain.

I must agree with settimio biondi from Italy. Having purchased the first two volumes, we've been waiting for 7 years for P~Z. This is an excellent, comprehensive work. Hopefully, Oxford...or someone with a sense of responsibility...will finish the final volume.

We have been waiting for this dictionary for a long time. Specifically, since 1975 when Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner issued their second supplemented edition of the "Dictionary of American Slang."
Editor J.E. Lighter, a researcher at the University of Tennessee, is somewhat disparaging of Wentworth and Flexner, the only previous lexicographers to take a healthy swing at American slang. (I don't count H.L. Mencken, who compiled many lists, but not in a format that a working writer can use.)
Lighter faults their "looseness of definition, unpredictable allocation of citations and a certain historical naivete." Maybe, but their book had, and still has, the most important merit a dictionary can have -- it is useful.
Also, theirs goes through Z, which is more than Lighter can say in 2006, 12 years after his Vol. 1 came out and many more years than that since he began.
Also, Wentworth and Flexner's volume is wieldy. Lighter's dictionary has many excellencies, but handiness is not one of them.
Wentworth and Flexner covered the whole of American English in a small volume of two pounds, six ounces. Lighter covers one-third the ground in a massive folio of six pounds, one ounce.
Lighter is often, but not always, more comprehensive. Take bum.
W&F give this useful word 26 definitions in a page. Lighter gives 29 in three pages, but three of his usages have earliest dates since W&F's last effort. It looks like a draw, but it's not, quite.
W&F give a nice little essay on the finer gradations of meaning of bum (in its sense of vagabond); Lighter is less preachy on usage, letting the extensive quotations do that work for him. This is the approved method for serious work, but although Lighter's citations often seem repetitive, their length does not always ensure completeness, as we shall see.
W&F derive bum from the German bummler, idler, but Lighter appears to think this an example of historical naivete, finding bum sprung full-blown in 1864, without any certain antecedents. (In its sense of fundament, it goes back in English to at least 1387.)
Turn now to cracker. Lighter gives it nearly half a page, in the sense of "a backwoods Southern white person regarded as ignorant, brutal, loutish, bigoted etc.," tracing it to 1766. W&F does not have it at all.
Lighter is clearly ahead here, but there are problems with this definition.
First, it is politically correct but lexically incorrect. A cracker is not a white person but a white man. Like its synonyms redneck and woolhatter, it is never used of a woman.
Second, not one of the 31 citations even hints at a usage that would explain how the Atlanta professional baseball team in the old Sally League (slang for South Atlantic League; I will be interested to see if this makes it into Lighter's Vol. 3, if I live long enough to see it) came to be called the Crackers. Or how Georgians' and north Floridians' own nickname for themselves came to be crackers, the way people from Indiana call themselves Hoosiers.
Lighter does also give five other definitions of cracker: beans, a remarkable individual, dollar, a poor skier who often loses control and a light-skinned Negro.
Taken in all, Lighter has lifted the compilation of American salng to a new, much higher level -- except for Hawaiian American slang.
Except for go for broke, which is listed as "apparently originally Nisei or Hawaiian English," I cannot find any slang words from the Hawaiian dialect of Standard American -- even though some words in Standard Hawaiian have migrated into Slang English, like kahuna.
There are many definitions in Lighter of grind, for example, but none for the ways we in Hawaii use it as noun and verb (for eating). Chance um is missing, too, and give um and blahlah.
The absence of Hawaiian American Slang (Alaskan, too) is a serious fault, but on the whole the book is a corker ("a person or thing of extraordinary size, effectiveness, quality etc.," originally English slang traced to 1882 but brought into American by Mark Twain in 1889).

Good heavy edition. Comes with box cover to protect it. Pages are of good quality.

This dictionary seems to be an excellent resource source. Highly recommended for students of all ages.

As a medical student, I have found this to be an extremely valuable asset to my library. Some of the other students I know simply scoff at buying something like this, what with the Internet being the golden egg to so many. There are times though, that using a book for reference is not only functional, but also sometimes even easier, not to mention you don't have to second guess the information like you sometimes have to when pulling something from the internet. I have to find various times and places to study, and cannot always have easy access to a desktop computer or laptop. This 2,256-page behemoth is just that, it is a monster of a book. However, the durable make of it coupled with several ribbon markers makes it user friendly as well as fun! It is very in depth, having etymologies applied when necessary. It also has over 2,000 illustrations and beyond punctuation and spelling, also goes in depth with historical references so that you are not just finding the source of what you are looking for, but also the history of how it became that way. The medical terms found within are helpful and I have used this every day in some of my own research assignments. It is expensive, but considering that you are using it to better yourself in one form or another, I feel it is worth the price.

I use unabridged dictionaries to keep up with the changes (mostly egregious) in our American English. I have 19 of them and the changes over the past 15 years are appalling. The dictionary is fascinating.

Received Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, Deluxe Edition from Woodys-Books. Price charged $167.33. Woodys-Books invoice sent with book $79.93. Requested refund and told by Woodys invoice in error. Woodys now showing price of same item for $105.89. Watch the price these guys charge.