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Rating: 
Summary: Erudite and entertaining
Review: Among the 5,000 books in my library, 50 or 60 of them being dictionaries, this is one of the most erudite and entertaining -- a rare combination. The author's knowledge of literature and language is quite remarkable. Apart from being an invaluable serious reference work it is also a wonderful tome for reading in bed (and it's not too heavy!) It is somewhat too complex, too "deep", to buy as a birthday present for an Auntie or Uncle with everyday interests, but it would make a wonderful present for a gifted young nephew or niece who loves to explore and learn about the wondrous riches of our linguistic and literary heritage
Rating:
Summary: A great reference piece
Review: I am a college junior, and I have found no book more helpful in my studies than this one. It is a great reference work that can be used for so many topics and in so many contexts. It is a necessity in my reference collection. The etymlogies of so many roots and words are throroughly explained, and done so with amazing clarity. Word Ninja
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely stunning
Review: Shipley is a scholar who wrote a study of Tolkien's language; his "discursive dictionary" shows the same mix of scholarship and fun. The book itself is organized by Indo-European roots. Shipley does not, however, expect you to know the IE root of an English word off the top of your head - he does provide an English to root index. Tidbits of information come from an amazingly broad range of topics. For example, speaking of the root plumbum (lead) he mentions that it may come via Iberia because lead was mined in Spain as early as 2000 BC. In the entry on men (for math etc.) we get a quote from Dryden on Bacchus. In short, you get the information you need (the etmology and history of a word) along with fun tidbits. The only complaint is that the dictionary is too fun ... looking up a word will always turn into an hour long browsing for enjoyment.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, well-done, but a bit old
Review: This is a useful, and highly browseable book. It is a lot of fun, and the author enjoys tracing bawdy terms as well as all the other words in English. The only drawback to this book is that it is twenty years old, and the study of Indo-European has made enormous progress in those twenty years. As an example, Watkin's dictionary of Indo-European roots (SECOND edition) has virtually obsoleted his first edition -- which was about twenty years old. But it's enjoyable and useful!
Rating:
Summary: Good book, well-done, but a bit old
Review: This is a useful, and highly browseable book. It is a lot of fun, and the author enjoys tracing bawdy terms as well as all the other words in English. The only drawback to this book is that it is twenty years old, and the study of Indo-European has made enormous progress in those twenty years. As an example, Watkin's dictionary of Indo-European roots (SECOND edition) has virtually obsoleted his first edition -- which was about twenty years old. But it's enjoyable and useful!
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