Books
by Henry Hitchings
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Dr Johnson's Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book That Defined the World |
How one man found himself taking on the task of defining a language is a story worth the telling and this book does it justice. However, arranging the small-ish chapters under alphabetical headings that are themselves dictionary entries does seem to be taking the conceit a bit far! The enormity of the task Johnson set himself became more apparent as work progressed but the eventual impact of the finished work must have made it worthwhile.
(Clive Yelf - bwl 46 June 2008) |
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