"The Geduld Dictionary and Self-Help Manual," partly inspired by Ambrose Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary," contains not only a unique lexicography but also such invaluable items as The Ten Best Ways to Dispose of Yourself, The Humiliation Index, A Guide to New Religions, and an addendum comprising three memorable short stories.
Harry Maurice Geduld (3 March 1931, in London – 21 January 2016, in Morgantown, Indiana) was a British American film and entertainment historian, best remembered for his books Authors on Film (1972), The Birth of the Talkies: From Edison to Jolson (1975), The Definitive Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Companion (1983), and Chapliniana: A Commentary on Charlie Chaplin's 81 Movies (1987), among others. He was professor emeritus of film studies at Indiana University. A graduate of University of Sheffield and University of London, he was Fulbright scholar, and most notably a professor of Bruce Joel Rubin.