Bibliophile's Dictionary: 2054 Masterful Words and Phrases [Hardcover]

Miles Westley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2005

The ultimate reference tool for word lovers, The Bibliophile's Dictionary compiles the most challenging words readers are ever likely to encounter in great literature. This invaluable guide: Shares comprehensive definitions for more than 2,000 words Provides examples of how each word is used by classic and contemporary authors Is uniquely organized by theme, giving it a light-hearted, browsable feel, and includes an alphabetical index for those looking up words traditionally Avid readers, booksellers, editors and other word-based professionals will welcome having a wealth of words at their fingertips, thanks to this masterful tool.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Miles Westley is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. This book was a labor of love while he took time off from his investment banking career.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books (October 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582973563
• ISBN-13: 978-1582973562
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #660,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Miles Westley was born in the San Francisco bay area to parents who had recently emigrated from England. At the age of four, his family moved to northern New Jersey, where he grew up. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, he lived in NYC and LA, before moving to San Francisco, like a salmon returning to its spawning ground, in the early 1990s. He now lives in Tiburon, California, with his wife, two daughters, and their shiba inu, Nobu. After a successful career in finance, he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. The Bibliophile's Dictionary is his first book. He recently completed his first novel, which he is seeking to get published. Miles is a dual citizen of the US and UK.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential tool for any writer, wannabee writer, or logophile who wants to show off at cocktail parties, March 5, 2006

By 

daniel tynan "journalist, book author, bon vi... (southeastern NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bibliophile's Dictionary: 2054 Masterful Words and Phrases (Hardcover)

I was lost in a thicket of verbiage, stumbling over vines of adverbs and lacerated by stinging nouns, trying to hack my way toward precisely the right word while writing something unspeakably boring. Then I found Miles Westley's "The Bibliophiles Dictionary" and I was saved.

But let us get something straight, right at the outset. This is not your average dictionary. It's not really even a reference work. It is a book built for browsing, for opening at random and sampling whatever happens to fall before your eyes. (It is, in that sense, excellent bathroom reading, but I digress.)

Like any good book about words the Bibliophile's Dictionary is idiosyncratic and weird, organized roughly into categories but adamantly analphabetic. In what other book can you find "Ursuline" (an order of nuns established in 1572 and devoted to the education of girls) in close proximity to "Knights of Columbus," or "Propinquity" (proximity) found so propinquitously near "Ultramontane" (of or relating to the Alps). There's no making sense of it, you just have to go with the flow.

Now, I do have some caveats. Chapter 5, for example, "The Lowly and Corrupt," features subsections named "Lustful," "Cowards and Moral Weaklings," "Drunk and Gorged," and "Lazy Slobs." This pretty much covers everyone I know, and I refuse to allow my friends to be denigrated in such callous fashion.

Still, I would say that the BD is easily the second best book I have read in the past 12 months. I am, of course, too modest to name the best book, given that I wrote it (Computer Privacy Annoyances, available on this very site and at fine bookstores everywhere). OK, maybe I'm not so modest.

Seriously, give this book a look. If you aspire to write, it belongs on your desk between Strunk and White's Elements of Style and Roget's Thesaurus. If you just love words, put it on your coffee table, or in the bath. You'll find it hard to put down.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great gift for crossword puzzlers., December 23, 2005

By 

G. Price - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bibliophile's Dictionary: 2054 Masterful Words and Phrases (Hardcover)

My mom is a habitual crossword player, and this turned out to be the perfect gift for her.

This book is an amazing collection of unusual words including their definition, pronunciation and use in a sentence. It's like the author took a dictionary, removed all the words you already know, and left only those odd words you never knew existed. Great stuff and very handy.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dictionary worth reading. Truly a unique resource., April 14, 2006

By 

F. A. Fraser (SF, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bibliophile's Dictionary: 2054 Masterful Words and Phrases (Hardcover)

To read Websters is to fall asleep. To read Miles Westley's dictionary is to be engaged and fascinated. This is a remarkable compilation. Consider the pages turned by the author to arrive at such a dictionary. A real treat to read or simply peruse.