A Man of My Words : Reflections on the English Language

Rating:
Summary: He's Got a Million of 'Em
Review: "Have you heard about the liberated Irish woman? Her name was Erin Go Braless."

"If planes taxi on runways, I wonder, do taxis plane on streets?"

If you think jokes like this are funny, you will love A Man of My Words. He's got a million of 'em.

Richard Lederer's latest collection of essays about language ranges from puns to world English, from Ebonics to grammar lessons. Many of these selections seem somewhat dated. For instance, he talks about the differences between American English and British English by pointing out English-isms such as "bob" for a shilling (when did they last use shillings, about 1975?), and says that in Britain, "billion" means a million million, but I believe they use it to mean a thousand million, as in America, and have for a while now. References to Jackie Gleason, "Saturday Night Live comedian" Steve Martin, and Conan the Grammarian add to the "blast from the past" feeling of this collection.

Fans of Lederer will enjoy these pieces that include a transcript of Lederer on the Jim Bohannon radio show, a discussion of the pronunciation of "nuclear," and many, many puns.

Rating:
Summary: He's Got a Million of 'Em
Review: "Have you heard about the liberated Irish woman? Her name was Erin Go Braless."

"If planes taxi on runways, I wonder, do taxis plane on streets?"

If you think jokes like this are funny, you will love A Man of My Words. He's got a million of 'em.

Richard Lederer's latest collection of essays about language ranges from puns to world English, from Ebonics to grammar lessons. Many of these selections seem somewhat dated. For instance, he talks about the differences between American English and British English by pointing out English-isms such as "bob" for a shilling (when did they last use shillings, about 1975?), and says that in Britain, "billion" means a million million, but I believe they use it to mean a thousand million, as in America, and have for a while now. References to Jackie Gleason, "Saturday Night Live comedian" Steve Martin, and Conan the Grammarian add to the "blast from the past" feeling of this collection.

Fans of Lederer will enjoy these pieces that include a transcript of Lederer on the Jim Bohannon radio show, a discussion of the pronunciation of "nuclear," and many, many puns.

Rating:
Summary: A Man of My Words : Reflections on the English Language
Review: Columnist, prolific language humorist, and radio-show host Lederer offers over 40 brief essays that illuminate wide-ranging aspects of the English language. The essays mix puns, anecdotes, poems, quotations, and six word games with serious discussion of grammar and literary history. These creative essays demonstrate and delight in the complex nature of language and linguistic change. In one game, for instance, readers identify names of movie stars from clues, which are puns. Elsewhere, Lederer rebuts journalist Jesse Sheidlower, insisting upon the correct pronunciation of the word nuclear, and takes Ann Landers to task for tolerating certain grammatical or spelling errors. Yet in the essay "Conan the Grammarian," Lederer amusingly debunks traditional "rules" regarding ending a sentence with a preposition or splitting infinitives. A unique, skillful combination of humor and substance, this compilation is recommended for public and academic libraries