Rating: 
Summary: A Delight of Words
Review: Here's a real gem! AN EXALTATION OF LARKS (Ultimate Edition) is the culmination of more than two decades of Lipton's research of "nouns of multitude," which he prefers to call "terms of venery." Many of these terms are commonplace: plague of locusts, pride of lions, litter of pups. Imagine, though, hearing these expressions for the first time. Lipton invites us to "sharpen our senses by restoring the magic to the mundane." Lipton traced a number of these terms back to the 1400s, specifically to THE BOOK OF ST. ALBANS, printed in 1486. In addition to today's ordinary terms, he discovered some that had a fresh sound, precisely because they had not made the 500-year journey to our modern era. Lipton identifies six sources of inspiration for the terms. He lists these "Families" with the following examples: 1. Onomatopoeia: a murmuration of starlings, a gaggle of geese. 2. Characteristic (by far the largest Family): a leap of leopards, a skulk of foxes. 3. Appearance: a knot of toads, a parliament of owls. 4. Habitat: a shoal of bass, a nest of rabbits. 5. Comment (pro or con depending on viewpoint): a richness of martens, a cowardice of curs. 6. Error (in transcription or printing; sometimes preserved for centuries): "school" of fish was originally intended to be "shoal." Lipton enthusiastically joined the "game" of coining terms, which had been in progress for more than 500 years. In 1968 he published his first EXALTATION OF LARKS, which contained 175 terms -- some from Middle English, some original. Neither the hardbound nor the paperback edition went out of print before the Ultimate Edition (with more than 1,000 terms) was published in 1991. As Lipton puts it, textbooks and various media "used the book like sourdough to leaven new batches of terms." Lipton believes that a pun or a play on words detracts from the vigor of a term. Alliteration, likewise, is unnecessary. Rather the success of the term hinges on identifying the "quintessential part" of the group of people or things and allowing it to represent the whole: a blur of impressionists, a brood of hens, a quiver of arrows. (Lipton's research on this last item revealed that as early as 1300 a poetic soul rejected the available words "case" and "scabbard" and turned "quiver" into a noun.) AN EXALTATION OF LARKS includes a few pages detailing Lipton's lexical odysseys and triumphs. Most of the book comprises the lists themselves. The origin of some of the terms is explained, and more than 250 of the terms are illustrated with witty engravings by Grandville, a 19th Century French lithographer. More than half the book lists terms in 25 categories, such as professions (an aroma of bakers), daily life (a belch of smokestacks), and academe (a discord of experts). Lipton includes several versions of games in which players coin new terms. His index lists his 1,000+ terms with a blank replacing the first item, which is the source of a term's poetry. The reader is thus encouraged to discern the essence of the thing collected. The page number facilitates the comparison of newly coined terms with existing ones. AN EXALTATION OF LARKS is indeed "a word lover's garden of delights."
Rating:
Summary: A Delight of Words
Review: Here's a real gem! AN EXALTATION OF LARKS (Ultimate Edition) is the culmination of more than two decades of Lipton's research of "nouns of multitude," which he prefers to call "terms of venery." Many of these terms are commonplace: plague of locusts, pride of lions, litter of pups. Imagine, though, hearing these expressions for the first time. Lipton invites us to "sharpen our senses by restoring the magic to the mundane." Lipton traced a number of these terms back to the 1400s, specifically to THE BOOK OF ST. ALBANS, printed in 1486. In addition to today's ordinary terms, he discovered some that had a fresh sound, precisely because they had not made the 500-year journey to our modern era. Lipton identifies six sources of inspiration for the terms. He lists these "Families" with the following examples: 1. Onomatopoeia: a murmuration of starlings, a gaggle of geese. 2. Characteristic (by far the largest Family): a leap of leopards, a skulk of foxes. 3. Appearance: a knot of toads, a parliament of owls. 4. Habitat: a shoal of bass, a nest of rabbits. 5. Comment (pro or con depending on viewpoint): a richness of martens, a cowardice of curs. 6. Error (in transcription or printing; sometimes preserved for centuries): "school" of fish was originally intended to be "shoal." Lipton enthusiastically joined the "game" of coining terms, which had been in progress for more than 500 years. In 1968 he published his first EXALTATION OF LARKS, which contained 175 terms -- some from Middle English, some original. Neither the hardbound nor the paperback edition went out of print before the Ultimate Edition (with more than 1,000 terms) was published in 1991. As Lipton puts it, textbooks and various media "used the book like sourdough to leaven new batches of terms." Lipton believes that a pun or a play on words detracts from the vigor of a term. Alliteration, likewise, is unnecessary. Rather the success of the term hinges on identifying the "quintessential part" of the group of people or things and allowing it to represent the whole: a blur of impressionists, a brood of hens, a quiver of arrows. (Lipton's research on this last item revealed that as early as 1300 a poetic soul rejected the available words "case" and "scabbard" and turned "quiver" into a noun.) AN EXALTATION OF LARKS includes a few pages detailing Lipton's lexical odysseys and triumphs. Most of the book comprises the lists themselves. The origin of some of the terms is explained, and more than 250 of the terms are illustrated with witty engravings by Grandville, a 19th Century French lithographer. More than half the book lists terms in 25 categories, such as professions (an aroma of bakers), daily life (a belch of smokestacks), and academe (a discord of experts). Lipton includes several versions of games in which players coin new terms. His index lists his 1,000+ terms with a blank replacing the first item, which is the source of a term's poetry. The reader is thus encouraged to discern the essence of the thing collected. The page number facilitates the comparison of newly coined terms with existing ones. AN EXALTATION OF LARKS is indeed "a word lover's garden of delights."
Rating:
Summary: nice powder room reading
Review: If you have reluctant young readers it the house, buy this book and put it in the bath room or lay it on the cereal table. It is fun to pick it up and snatch a page or two about the delightful monikers we can call groups of animals and things. Everyone in my house now knows that when we see geese in the sky, we ought rightly to call them a "skein of geese", whereas when they land, the instantly become a gaggle. This stuff is fun to know!
Rating:
Summary: A splendid curiosity
Review: James Lipton's "An Exaltation of Larks" is a splendid curiosity and a must for any etymology lover's bookshelf. In it, Lipton gathers together virtually every known existing grouping phrase (as in a murder of crows, a leap of leopards, and, naturally, an exaltation of larks) and even admits to adding a few of his own--ones which he felt ought to be in use, even if they weren't already. The result is exhilarating good fun. A few of the choicer phrases are shown below, although of course it's difficult to pick out just a few gems when there is a treasure trove within these covers: A rash of dermatologists;
A pound of Englishmen;
A solidarity of Poles;
An outback of Aussies;
A quicksand of credit cards;
A thrill of brides;
A convulsion of belly dancers;
An insanity of clauses. Lipton gives all sorts of fascinating background on the existing phrases and provides many good reasons for the ones he makes up. The result is a hoot, and lots of fun to read aloud to your friends and family. Accompanying the text are superb, crisp old engravings of everything under the sun, each appropriate to the particular section in which it appears (sections include "Romance and Raunch," "People, Places & Things," "The Unknown," "The Unexpected," "Professions," and more). "An Exaltation of Larks" is the perfect gift for the word-lover who has everything else.
Rating:
Summary: A splendid curiosity
Review: James Lipton's "An Exaltation of Larks" is a splendid curiosity and a must for any etymology lover's bookshelf. In it, Lipton gathers together virtually every known existing grouping phrase (as in a murder of crows, a leap of leopards, and, naturally, an exaltation of larks) and even admits to adding a few of his own--ones which he felt ought to be in use, even if they weren't already. The result is exhilarating good fun. A few of the choicer phrases are shown below, although of course it's difficult to pick out just a few gems when there is a treasure trove within these covers: A rash of dermatologists;
A pound of Englishmen;
A solidarity of Poles;
An outback of Aussies;
A quicksand of credit cards;
A thrill of brides;
A convulsion of belly dancers;
An insanity of clauses. Lipton gives all sorts of fascinating background on the existing phrases and provides many good reasons for the ones he makes up. The result is a hoot, and lots of fun to read aloud to your friends and family. Accompanying the text are superb, crisp old engravings of everything under the sun, each appropriate to the particular section in which it appears (sections include "Romance and Raunch," "People, Places & Things," "The Unknown," "The Unexpected," "Professions," and more). "An Exaltation of Larks" is the perfect gift for the word-lover who has everything else.
Rating: 
Summary: engaging, but bland
Review: mr. Liton was my acting coach when I lived in New York. I was studying to be a methodist actor. That's when you become the character. If your character doesnt' get any sleep, then you dont sleep. It's a difficult technique to master, but it makes your acting so much better. You should buy this if youre interested in being a better actor, or trying to become a methodist actor, which is difficult, trust me.
Rating:
Summary: You can learn so much
Review: mr. Liton was my acting coach when I lived in New York. I was studying to be a methodist actor. That's when you become the character. If your character doesnt' get any sleep, then you dont sleep. It's a difficult technique to master, but it makes your acting so much better. You should buy this if youre interested in being a better actor, or trying to become a methodist actor, which is difficult, trust me.
Rating:
Summary: surprizingly ...
Review: of all the books i own (and that/s quite a lot), my evil nemesis, upon moving in, found this book and has spent the last few days raving abt how great it is. i would, acourse, agree - i had the original and now have the expanded edition. it/s onea those books that inclines you to think about things you ordinarily wouldn/t. and yes, it *is* funny. a wouldn/t miss, for me.
Rating:
Summary: An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton ( the 1968 Edition)
Review: This book is absolutely fascinating, and I thought it would by out of print by now. I am thrilled that there is a new updated version, and am going to order two copies; one for us and one for some friends in England. Words are a wonderful thing and Mr. Lipton has created a super read with all of his collectives!
Rating:
Summary: engaging, but bland
Review: This book provides all of the standards, many of the obscure and tons of the questionable (did you just make that up?). What it does not do, however, is dare to cross PC lines and provide anything provocative. And frankly, after 100 pages of blandness, that is exactly what it needs. I hope the next edition includes such entries as: a toke of rastafarians
a harley of dykes
a hazard of asian drivers
a pretense of poets
a bent of priests
a cruller of cops
a loud of jews
a parole of rappers
a smug of frenchmen Oh my, oh my. Too much fun. I'll stop.
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