Wordgloss: A Cultural Lexicon

by JohnBanville (Foreword), JimO'Donnell (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $3.35

  Wordgloss is a lively, comprehensive reference work, first published to acclaim in 1990, now reworked and extended. This invaluable compendium consists of a series of mini-essays, informed by Latin and Greek and a deep knowledge of the humanities. It ranges over diverse categories that embrace law, politics, science, technology, literature, philosophy, and the arts. The extraordinary exponential expansion of modern knowledge has created a Niagara of words and concepts flowing from a wide range of disciplines never explored, borne on a stream of consciousness created by writers and thinkers. Wordgloss tells you where these words and concepts came from, examining the myth or history that clings to them and how they acquired the meaning they now have. It is a treasure-hoard that will intrigue, delight and divert, and become a necessity for every desk and library shelf.