-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
The Reference Shelf From Ancient Babylon to Wikipedia
by Jack Lynch
"Knowledge is of two kinds," said Samuel Johnson in 1775. "We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." Today we think of Wikipedia as the source of all information, the ultimate reference. Yet it is just the latest in a long line of aggregated knowledge - reference works that have shaped the way we've seen the world for centuries.
You Could Look It Up chronicles the captivating stories behind these great works and their contents, and the way they have influenced each other. From The Code of Hammurabi, the earliest known compendium of laws in ancient Babylon almost two millennia before Christ to Pliny's Natural History; from the 11th-century Domesday Book recording land holdings in England to Abraham Ortelius's first atlas of the world; from Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language to The Whole Earth Catalog to Google, Jack Lynch illuminates the human stories and accomplishment behind each, as well as its enduring impact on civilization. In the process, he offers new insight into the value of knowledge.
"Starred Review. As readers make their ways through this book, they are certain to discover a wide variety of must-haves ... Great stuff for anyone who loves knowledge, deep or trivial." - Kirkus
"Anyone who enjoys reference books will embrace this erudite compilation and Lynch's appreciative, fluent commentary." - Publishers Weekly
This information about You Could Look It Up was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jack Lynch is a professor of English at Rutgers University. He specializes in English literature of the eighteenth century and the history of the English language. He is the author of several books including The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of 'Proper' English, from Shakespeare to South Park and Samuel Johnson's Insults: A Compendium of Snubs, Sneers, Slights, and Effronteries from the Eighteenth-Century Master. He lives in New Jersey.
If you liked You Could Look It Up, try these:
by Melvyn Bragg
Published 2006
An enthralling story not only of power, religion, and trade but also of people and how they changed, and continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.
by A. J. Jacobs
Published 2005
Part memoir and part education (or lack thereof), The Know-It-All chronicles NPR contributor A.J. Jacobs's hilarious, enlightening, and seemingly impossible quest to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z.
by Simon Winchester
Published 2004
A scintillating account of the creation of the greatest monument ever erected to a living language. Winchester's supple, vigorous prose illuminates this dauntingly ambitious seventy-year odyssey to create the grandfather of all word-books, the Oxford English Dictionary. Browse an exclusive excerpt at BookBrowse.
Every good journalist has a novel in him - which is an excellent place for it.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
