The Collected Lost Meanings Of Christmas [Paperback]

Craig Conley (Author), Michael Warwick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 2005

For those who know the meaning of Christmas but can't use it in a sentence... This delightful compendium features 126 distinct definitions of the Christmas holiday, with literary quotations. This book is the antidote for people who complain that Christmas has become so commercialized that it is devoid of meaning. The surprising and intriguing entries encourage contemplation and reminiscence. One whimsical example is "Christmas means 'Whiskey': 'Pour a little Christmas in that eggnog, darlin'.' -expression from the American South."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Craig Conley, "America's most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation" (Encarta), is a curator, benefactor, philosopher, author, music producer, and documentarian. A former college teacher of writing and literature, he left academia to pursue his research into one-letter words, two-fold deities, and ancient Zen versions of Rock-Paper-Scissors. In addition to his Magic Words: A Dictionary and One-Letter Words: A Dictionary, he has written several educational titles, including four editions of the textbook Human Diversity: A Guide for Understanding, published by McGraw-Hill. His latest documentary, "David Lynch and His Precursors," traces the avant-garde filmmaker's influence through time, to movies that predate Lynch's own body of work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (December 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438219628
• ISBN-13: 978-1438219622
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,408,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CRAIG CONLEY has been called "a true Renaissance man of the modern era, diving headfirst into comprehensive, open-minded study of realms obscured or merely obscure" (Clint Marsh), "America's most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation" (Encarta), a "language fanatic" (Page Six gossip columnist Cindy Adams), and a "cult hero" (Publisher's Weekly). An eccentric scholar, Conley's ideas are often decades ahead of their time. He invented the concept of the "virtual pet" in 1980, fifteen years before the debut of the popular "Tamagotchi" in Japan. His virtual pet, actually a rare flower, still thrives and has reached an incomprehensible size. Conley's ONE-LETTER WORDS: A DICTIONARY is published by HarperCollins, and his MAGIC WORDS: A DICTIONARY is published by Weiser Books.