A Wonderland of Words: Around the Word in 101 Essays

Words are power. Words are magic. Words are fun. Words are sexy. Words can move you to tears. Words can make you laugh. And words can show you the world and everything in it with clarity and depth as few other things can. In this gloriously entertaining book, one of our greatest wordsmiths (and self-proclaimed bibliophile) Shashi Tharoor takes us on a tour of the words, concepts, and particularities that constitute the sublime (and sometimes mystifying) wonderland of the English language. He demystifies punctuation, guides us through the arcane rules of spelling and grammar, and explains a wide array of essential components of the language including acronyms, bacronyms, contronyms, oxymorons, kennings, metaphors, similes, idioms, euphemisms, palindromes, and much much more. He delves into the history and evolution of English, delights in its quirks, embraces its geographical variants, provides hilarious examples of its misuse around the world, is awed by the way in which the masters of literature use it, and revels in its beauty and grandeur. Passionate, learned, funny, and brilliantly readable, A Wonderland of Words is a book that will enchant and educate all those who delight in the English language.