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The Secret Lives of Words

The Secret Lives of Words Hardcover - 2000 - 1st Edition

by Paul West

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover

Description

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2000. Hardcover. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Used - Very Good
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Details

  • Title The Secret Lives of Words
  • Author Paul West
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition number 1st
  • Edition 1
  • Condition Used - Very Good
  • Pages 304
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
  • Date 2000
  • Bookseller's Inventory # G0151004668I4N00
  • ISBN 9780151004669 / 0151004668
  • Weight 1.34 lbs (0.61 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.28 x 6.48 x 1.15 in (23.57 x 16.46 x 2.92 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects English language - Etymology
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 99052623
  • Dewey Decimal Code 422.03

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Summary

We are often unaware of the unique and intriguing stories of the words we love. Thousands of our words have been so twisted, tangled, misused, and muddled over the centuries that their original meaning has been obscured. You'll be surprised to learn that table napkins were once made of and referred to as asbestos, that atom means uncuttable, that a cloud was once a hill, and that a companion is one who eats bread with you. Compiled over the years in his handwritten notebooks, acclaimed prose stylist Paul West offers us an album of treasures. The Secret Lives of Words is an "Antiques Road Show" of language, in which West chronicles the centuries-long travels of words across continents and through cultures. For word enthusiasts, speakers, writers, thinkers, and all readers, this volume recounting the intimate ancestry of language will enrich our understanding of and appreciation for the words we use every day.

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Media reviews

"His is one of the most original talents in American fiction."-The New York Times Book Review "Paul West is a writer splendidly attuned to history."-Walter Abish
"A sorcerer of language."-Publishers Weekly
"West is a master."-the Washington Post Book World