World of Words: The Personalities of Language

by Gary Jennings

Readers of Gary Jennings's best-selling novels Aztec and The Journeyer know that he delights in language--in its history, in word origins, and in the relationship between language and culture. Jennings's delight is solidly based on scholarship, and this book--a revised and updated edition of his 1965 Personalities of Language--is a stylish and fascinating Baedecker to the world of words, the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of language from caveman to adman, from hieroglyph to acronym.

261 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Gary Jennings led a paradoxically picaresque life. On one hand, he was a man of acknowledged intellect and erudition. His novels were international best sellers, praised around the world for their stylish prose, lively wit and adventurously bawdy spirit. They were also massive - often topping 500,000 words - and widely acclaimed for the years of research he put into each one, both in libraries and in the field.

Jennings served in the Korean War, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal- a decoration rarely given to soldier-reporters- and a personal citation by South Korean President Syngman Rhee for his efforts on behalf of war orphans.

Where the erudition came from, however, was something of a mystery.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/garyje...