You Could Look It Up

Posted on 21 January 2018 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 centuriesYou 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. New Download eBook You Could Look It Up by Jack Lynch – kino-fada.fr This was fairly interesting, especially as someone who read dictionaries and encyclopedias as a child and still reads on Wikipedia pretty extensively.For someone like me who hardly ever reads even nonfiction to enjoy a book about reference books this much is worrisome If you see that I am reading the reference books themselves, you should definitely look into it.Probably a book only a librarian would select to read of their own free will I love reference books and could power rank my favorites right here right now But the book was disappointingly shallow, and mostly about dictionaries, and dictionaries have already had their own better pop history treatments OED alone has two recent pop histories two so there s not much point to dedicating 50% of the book to them Those who wish to read about dictionaries, presumably, are already sufficiently e Probably a book only a librarian would select to read of their own free will I love reference books and could power rank my favorites right here right now But the book was disappointingly shallow, and mostly about dictionaries, and dictionaries have already had their own better pop history treatments OED alone has two recent pop histories two so there s not much point to dedicating 50% of the book to them Those who wish to read about dictionaries, presumably, are already sufficiently educated, thank you There s definitely some good overview histories of academic reference favorites, like I didn t know the history of Grove Music, which is my most consulted academic reference, nor did I know all the drama surrounding Grey s Anatomy You always suspected these b...I admit it I m a nerd Who else but a nerd would read a book about the history of reference books and finish it, saying, Gee, that was fun Okay, it wasn t all fun It occasionally dragged a bit, and could be shortened a bit by eliminating a few of the different types of dictionaries profiled But it was often fascinating The author did a good job of keeping it from lagging too much by keeping the chapters short Each chapter focused on two similar books from roughly the same era different I admit it I m a nerd Who else but a nerd would read a book about the history of reference books and finish it, saying, Gee, that was fun Okay, it wasn t all fun It occasionally dragged a bit, and could be shortened a bit by eliminating a few of the different types of dictionaries profiled But it was often fascinating The author did a good job of keeping it from lagging too much by keeping the chapters short Each chapter focused on two s...Jack Lynch, a polymathic professor of English who specializes in 18th century literature and the history of the English language at Rutgers, is author of such earlier works as 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.You Could Look It Up another large, exuberant volume from a man who loves books that includes scrolls, tab Jack Lynch, a polymathic professor of English who specializes in 18th century literature and the history of the English language at Rutgers, is a...Interesting survey of reference books including scrolls, tablets, codexes, Wikipedia throughout history, starting with the Code of Hammurabi in Ancient Babylon You probably have to be a bit of a reference book geek which I am to like this one Even then, I found a few of the entries not terribly interesting But overall Lynch keeps it pretty entertaining the chapters are short and he pairs up works in discussing them, so even when you get to a topic of less interest to you, it s ove Interesting survey of reference books including scrolls, tablets, codexes, Wikipedia throughout history, starting with the Code of Hammurabi in Ancient Babylon You probably have to be a bit of a reference book geek which I am to like this one E...A fun, anecdotal look at reference books through the ages One of my favorite sections is the one on delays with its tales of errant authors For all its anecdotal nature, Lynch sure covers a lot Everything from cartography to sex manuals.OK, it is specialized topic, but done with wit and style and Oh So Readable One of the best non fiction books I have read in a long time Expand your life past Google and Wikipedia.The reference section in my public library recently became much smaller The library made room for additional computer terminals Before the Internet, the way to get reliable information was through reference books or clay tablets As the title suggests, Lynch takes the reader back to earliest sources of reference material in the ancient world and leads us into the modern era of Wikipedia The book reads quickly Lynch is a superb communicator who writes short chapters to introduce two differe The reference section in my public library recently became much smaller The library made room for additional computer terminals Before the Internet, the way to get reliable information was through reference books or clay tablets As the title suggests, Lynch takes the reader back to earliest sources of reference material in the ancient world and leads us into the modern era of Wikipedia Th...Having perused many a reference book, Google and Wikipedia in the past, this was quite a fun read We ve come a long way but information, however you look for it, and however you find it, is still important and this book proves that in it s own way.

English
21 January 2018

Jack Lynch