14 June 2006

From the Bookshelf: Latin for the Illiterati by Jon R. Stone

Non-Fiction: Language. Paperback from Routledge. Published in 1996. 201 pages. Purchased at one of the many English Heritage sites we visited during our time in the UK. (Probably Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall but I'm not sure.)

I'll admit that most of the time when I come across a Latin phrase or word that I don't understand, I just "google it". Still, this is a great book and worth having even with Google there to answer my Latin queries. I've enjoyed just browsing through it and reading the different definitions for phrases and words, and can sometimes find phrases faster in this book than on Google. Babae! Very enjoyable book.

Publisher's summary:
Latin for the Illiterati is everyperson's reference to common Latin words and phrases. With over 6,000 entries--including 300 abbreviations--this volume will accompany every reader, student and scholar through their lifelong reading journey.

This solidly researched handbook was ten years in the making, evolving from a handwritten help list of frequently occurring phrases to this comprehensive reference tool. The volume contains common words, phrases and abbreviations selected from the worlds of art, music, law, philosophy, theology, medicine and the theatre as well as clever sayings and sage advice from ancient writers. In addition, there is a section on geographical place names, colors, calendar months and days and Roman numerals as well as an English index and a brief guide on Latin pronunciation.


Online book shopping:
Powell's: Latin for the Illiterati
amazon.co.uk: Latin for the Illiterati
amazon.com: Latin for the Illiterati
Audible.com: not available as audio

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