<B>An obsessive word lover’s account of reading the <I>Oxford English Dictionary</I> cover to cover.</B><BR><BR> “I’m reading the <I>OED</I> so you don’t have to. If you are interested in vocabulary that is both spectacularly useful and beautifully useless, read on...”<BR><BR> So reports Ammon Shea, the tireless, word-obsessed, and more than slightly masochistic author of <I>Reading the OED</I>. The word lover’s Mount Everest, the <I>OED</I> has enthralled logophiles since its initial publication 80 years ago. Weighing in at 137 pounds, it is the dictionary to end all dictionaries.<BR><BR> In 26 chapters filled with sharp wit, sheer delight, and a documentarian’s keen eye, Shea shares his year inside the <I>OED</I>, delivering a hair-pulling, eye-crossing account of reading every word, and revealing the most obscure, hilarious, and wonderful gems he discovers along the way. Ammon Shea http://lakenet.llcoop.org/search/i?9780399533983 2008-07-25T13:37:54-04:00 An obsessive word lover provides an entertaining account of the year he spent reading the Oxford English Dictionary cover to cover, offering a colorful selection of obscure, hilarious, and offbeat vocabulary gems he discovered along the way. 2286 9780399533983