Dictionary Reviews

I found this book great. It is a lot of fun! It would only be better if we could sort the words and expressions not only by English, but also by the other idioms as well (probably possible only in a CD version). BUY IT AND HAVE FUN !

It is lot of fun for everyone who values alive languages of everyday use on the street. There is no F... way one will not laugh while reading those hilarious words aloud. Even my father was laughing, although it is not easy to bring him out of his serious mood. Great value for travelers. I am waiting for next volumes with additional languages.

My only concern was if all the words are for real. And they are. Trust me. Join the world and buy at least one.

As a beginning grad student in hort in 1972, I was introduced to this book by one of my professors. Among all the books I have collected, this is the one I have used most often. I love plants, and this book of words helps me understand and identify the plants I study, and to recognize their features. I often recommend it to my students. I'm glad it's still in print. It's a real treasure.

This compact, easy-to-use book is a must for any science-related field of study. By using this book, you learn what the parts of scientific words mean. This provides the student/scientist with an explanation of why a structure or organism has a particular name. This understanding keys the person to remember the term more easily, giving the real meaning to the word instead of the word being just being a large group of letters. I have seen students go from, "How am I going to remember that!" to "AH HA! It makes sense!" As I teach, I frequently give the students the meaning of the root words. This book is where I learned it.

Nice little reference (134 pages) packed with word roots and their definitions - adds a little poetry to the scientific names we come across in insects and others

With the exception of the short dictionary at the back of my Greek New Testament, no tool has been of more use in my study of Biblical Greek than this lexicon.

More than just a dictionary, the strength of this lexicon is that it gives both specific meanings of words in context as well as a knowledge of the shadings of meaning that a word carries throughout the Bible. This moves the student from a general grasp of a thing to an attentiveness to the precise way God has made himself known--there is nothing quite like it.

As other reviewers have noted, this is probably not a good place for beginners hoping to do a word study to jump in. I'd recommend Vine's for that. I also recommend that those serious in the study of Biblical Greek use this book in conjunction with a Greek New Testament, Mr. Mounce's Grammar (his lexicon is handy too), and Zerwick's Grammatical Analysis. This broad group of tools should help keep you from falling pray to a single interpretive spin.

Don't let its size and price scare you off--this book is essential for the student of Biblical Greek.

This book makes you work for each little bit of understanding. The method of giving many, many different examples of usage for each Greek word really broadens your understanding of each word, but is time-consuming.

This lexicon is excellent for word studies beyond the Strong's level and will drive you nuts if you don't know your case forms yet (I know from experience).

But all in all, this is a resource no Biblical scholar or wannabe scholar should be without. I'd recommend getting Strong's Concordance, Vine's Expository Dictionary, a Greek New Testament and this book to go along with a New American Standard Bible for the novice in Greek.

Your understanding of the New Testament and of Greek will grow by leaps and bounds with diligent study of these very basic resources - even if you don't intend to study Koine Greek professionally.

The third edition of this famous Greek-English Lexicon does not disappoint. It is a significant improvement in at least three respects. First, specific Greek words have been given general definitions even where the word covers a wide semantic domain. This was not the case in previous editions where the reader was left with the meaning of a word only in its particular occurrence. Now readers can draw some conclusion about the basic meaning of any given Greek word. The approach suggests a regression in the approach to biblical words spearheaded by James Barr in his "Semantics of Biblical Language" and a return to the approach of older lexicographers to the effect that words have meanings. Second, the range of Greek authors has been expanded and now includes more noncanonical (especially apocryphal) Greek writings of special interest for the study of early Christian origins. Third, the type set and publication of this edition is dramatically improved, making it as sheer pleasure to handle and read. The second edition suffered from typeset that was too small, and lacked bold catchy print for the words themselves. Readers who own the second edition will want to upgrade for this reason alone.

There are two drawbacks. The first is price. This is an expensive volume, but perhaps that is to be expected. The second is that I noticed several examples of errata. No doubt these will be removed with each new printing.

- It was amazing. In almost no time I found myself reading a text in Gothic, a language I never thought I'd ever master.

The book summarizes the main common characteristics of the ancient Germanic languages, then moves on to describe 7 different languages individually. For each language the author describes significant features of its history, phonetics, and grammar. Moreover, for each language, a few short texts are presented to the reader. They are accompanied by a glossary with examples of words from modern English and German to ease the understanding of the words in the text. After the text a thorough vocabulary follows, where all the words are translated into English. Finally, at the end of the book there is complete translation of each text.

The book is clearly based on strict linguistic principles and methods, it's well-structured, and the author is able to keep the balance and avoid too many details - after all, the aim is to give a comparative survey of the language family. But most important, the author isn't just a scholar - he also knows how to teach.

I won't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone interested in comparative linguistics and the history of the Indo-European languages. However, knowledge of modern German is clearly an advantage when reading the text samples.

I took Orrin Robinson's class "Introduction to the Germanic Languages" at Stanford and this was the primary text. The book is a marvelous sampler, with brief sections discussing each language's relation to the others and its historical and cultural significance. Each language is presented through excerpts from major or important works, with translations and "clues" in the margins for those attempting to read the original. It definitely helps to have a basic understanding of historical linguistics and some exposure to either modern German or comparative linguistics, but even beginners will find something of interest.

An overview of the surviving tongues of the Germanic peoples. There are chapters on Frankish, Old English, West Goth, Norse, Old German, etc.
Easy to read. Layman friendly. Short and to the point.

Everything you always wanted to know about bad behavior -but were too afraid to ask (or didn't know where to find it). Well, here it is! Spent all weekend reading Parish's lively tome about the Silver Screen's most famous rogues - from scoundrels to rascals - & truly, couldn't put the book down. In just under 300 fascinating pages, found out WHO did WHAT to WHOM. What's more, the author tells you HOW and WHY. A phenomenally fun read, and highly recommended.

Hollywood has a long history of bad boys as this fascinating book shows. Bad behavior is as old as Hollywood,but this book is not a simple recap of tabloid stories. It gives an interesting background to the actors' careers, their missteps, and the consequences of their bad behavior. It can also serve as a cautionary book. So much of the bad behavior is a result of booze and/or drugs and in many cases derailed or destroyed very promising careers. I would definitely recommend this book.

What do Charlie Chaplin, W. C. Fields, and Dean Martin have in common? In addition to passing away on Christmas Day in their respective years of death, all 3, along with 67 others, appear in
"Hollywood Bad Boys," from the prolific pen of James Robert Parish. From Ben Affleck to Gig Young (Oscar winners both), you get a succint account of the lives (and, in 37 cases, the deaths) of the notables and the wannabes, that, for better or worse, made the American entertainment industry what it is today.
If you like E!'s "True Hollywood Story" and "Mysteries and Scandals," you'll love "Hollywood Bad Boys."

I'm using "The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice" as an overall brush-up, having recently completed the Pimsleur courses, the two "Spanish Now!" books and Dorothy Devney Richmond's two "Practice Makes Perfect" books. This book is doing an excellent job of tying everything together, particularly with its extensive exercises. Like any good review book, each chapter builds on the ones before it as opposed to introducing a topic, reviewing it, and dropping it for good. And several of the exercises will give your brain a good workout.

I'd quicky recommend this book for someone with a solid basic grasp of the language -- perhaps a second-year student. It may prove to be too advanced for early students of the language, as some concepts (such as commands) appear in exercises several chapters before they're actually reviewed.

All-in-all, an excellent resource

I'm through with Spanish now, but in every course I took this book was an invaluable resource. All your questions are answered in an easy to understand format, and there are enough examples to master every topic. More subjects need review books like this.

As an adult learner of Spanish I am finding this book to be a challenge, with a variety of activities which require you to think beyond just the conjugation of the verb, for example. I recommend it for those who have several semesters of Spanish and/or a basic understanding of grammar but who are finding it hard to use the language creatively or with confidence.

From the A&P Gypsies to the Ziegfield Follies of the Air, the entire spectrum of radio in its heyday (1930's 40's, 50's) is all here, with as fabulous a cast of characters as were ever gathered into one industry.
The 1500 entries detail the broadcast history of each show (including dates, times, network, and sponsors), cast members major and minor, announcers, musicians and singers, producers and directors, sound effects technicians, and more.
Shows of special significance, such as "Gunsmoke" (1952-61) are treated in extensive essays describing their history and development, with background information derived from numerous interviews and meticulous research. There are also special categories, or "umbrella entries", covering concert, news, and religious shows, and the remote broadcasts of the great bands, such as Glenn Miller and Woody Herman. For hardcore radio buffs and collectors information on the availability of tapes of old shows will be a special treat. With its fine bibliography and generous index, Dunning's work is a first rate production, essential for anyone interested in old time radio.

(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

John's 1976 "Tune In Yesterday" is a classic. "On The Air" is more than just a revision of his earlier book. Some 1,500 radio shows presented in alphabetical order. There is extensive information on each show's length of run, cast, writers, and directors. A comprehensive bibliography of Old-Time Radio (OTR) literature is included.

What really sets this book apart from other OTR books is John's insightful writing about the shows; he writes from the heart and with passion. John is an acknowledged expert on OTR; he had OTR shows on various stations in Denver, CO for over 20 years. John is also a best-selling author - his two novels on, cop-turned rare book seller/detective, Cliff Janeway are very readable.

If I could only buy one OTR book, this one is it!

defineitely for those that want to collect old time radio programs that are readily available on cassette and cd ,cd/mp3.

This is good to use for hearing audiences who do not know sign: the signs are often erroneous or out of date and so are frustrating to use in conversation with the Deaf.
This would work well for interpretation of praise music for hearing congregations.

This text, like others from Elaine Costello, is comprehensive concerning religious signs. I did not say exhaustive. There is no such thing. The geographic and cultural variations are too great to fully document in one text. Contrary to another reviewer, there are not wrong signs in this book. The reviewer mistook geographic variation with which she was not familiar for mistakes. But Elaine Costello isn't going to offer wrong signs! She's an expert and it's just not going to happen. This text, along with the medical sign dictionary, should be used with the American Sign Language dictionary she published in the early 90's, which is also comprehensive. There are many other sign books out there, and many have come to think that "The Joy of Signing" is about the best. But it's far from it. It's good, but it doesn't actually present American Sign Language; rather, it presents Signed English. One is better off just grouping together Costello's comprehensive resources for referencing signs and then buying ASL grammar books to supplement. If, on the other hand, one wants to learn Signed English--which is not accepted in the Deaf community--then buy all the sign dictionaries you want and skip the grammar books.

Costello has set the standard for sign language dictionaries and there's really no need for others to produce their own competitive versions. Costello should just continue to expand her current works and also produce other specialized dictionaries as she did with the religious and medical field. The next one she should produce is a legal dictionary. Others should consider writing books which better explain the grammar of the language of the Deaf community. Those who use Signed English aren't speaking another language; they're speaking coded English, just like writing and morse code and fingerspelling is just coded English. The Hearing community needs to learn to speak ASL, not coded English; and Costello, not Reikohoff, leads much more in this direction.

Sounds Wonderful! I think everyone should have this book! It teaches you how to say basic chuch-related words and actual prayers! It also teaches you some words in Signed English, a form of signing where you sign each phrase word for word!) ( It's good to know a little bit of Signed English in addition to ASL.) Oh did I mention that there are signs in this book you can't get in other Signing Books? Try it!

I have been exposed to the Internet since 1991 when only universities or companies like Microsoft had access to it. So, I was used to surfing the Internet using FTP, Telnet, etc. When the World Wide Web came into existence in the mid-nineties, it grew faster than anything any of us could ever imagine (as we all know by now). I ran across one of the first editions of the Rough Guides about the Internet in 1997. Till then, inspite of being very familiar with the technology behind the Internet, I felt very uncomfortable about my knowledge of what the Web was all about. This Rough Guide was the reference I started using to change my ignorance about the Web. I bought every edition since then and have benefited tremendously.

So, why is this book so great? What does it offer? Well, considering that it is almost impossible for anyone to learn everything about the Internet, most people don't even bother to learn the basics. Not surprising, since you have to spend hundreds of hours reading too many books to even get a glimmer of understanding about this untamed beast called the Internet. This book addresses all the main topics in approximately 500 pages, and provides you the critical information that you need to know about the Internet in Plain English! If you like trivia, there is also quite a bit of it in this book on the history of the Internet. This book acts as a pocket reference, complete reference, listing of popular sites, dictionary and more - all for under [$$]

Being raised on British books, I thoroughly enjoy the systematic treatment of any subject that British authors tackle. This book is no exception - it is very thorough, complete and the facts are extremely accurate. Unfortunately, British books don't do that well in America (probably due to marketing disadvantages). But if you get a chance, check this book out and I am sure that you will be a fan of British books forever.

I have always bought several copies of each edition of this book that came out and gave them out as gifts to close friends and family that were new to the Internet. Every one of them has thoroughly enjoyed the new found knowledge gained through this book. I hope you have fun discovering more about the Internet by reading this book on a train ride or plane trip somewhere. Good luck!

This book is really intresting.Reading this book, one can have a comprehensive idea about the internet and can say good bye to huge bulky books. Therefore,I cosider the folks @ Rough Guide to be so successful in producing such a book.Finally, I would strongly recommend it for any new internet user ;-)

Excellent book! Love it! Highly recommend to all! One of the best internet guide books I ever got! Thanks rough guide :)

This book is an excellent reference text of Attic Greek. The explanations were, generally, very clear, and the morphological analyses were often helpful in learning the various inflections. Also, this book explains much more clearly than any other book I've read the principles of Greek accentuation. A good book for a motivated self learner, or just an interesting reference for those who already know some Greek but would like to improve their current skills.

Out of all the books on learning Greek that I have gone through, this is the best in terms of detail. Some books have good explanations, but poor charts; and other books have good charts, but poor explanations. This book, however, has good charts and explanations. This is great for those being taught or tutored. It is also great for review and greater understanding of the grammer. However, this book may be overwhelming for those teaching themselves Greek because of all the information presented in this 400 page book.

This is a very good book for learning Attic Greek (ie, the dialect of Greek spoken in Attica, a part of Greece, focusing on the classical period, although other periods are also covered), the language of Aristotle, Plato and others. It gives one an extensive vocabulary, and gives a good break-down of grammatical concepts (although that may just be for me, since I had previously learned classical Latin, thus learning the basic concepts and terms, like nominative, indicative, etc.) I highly recommend it, and it keeps its promise: to allow one to read most Greek texts with commentary and dictionary.