Words You Should Know [Paperback]

David Olsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Lots of people need a quick and authoritative way to identify and define the most troublesome common words. The usual approach- stalling for time until you can grasp the context of what the person has just said-has its limits. If only there were a list, not of every word (after all, reading dictionaries is no one's idea of fun) but of the right words, the ones that are used frequently but don't quite register when you come across them. The Words You Should Know features straightforward, succinct definitions and sentence examples of over 1200 tough-but-common words. It's the kind of book that can get you out of a jam, improve your performance at school, and help advance your career. And that's no hyperbole, rigmarole, or embellishment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558500189
• ISBN-13: 978-1558500181
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #290,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Education > General
  • #13 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Words & Language > Alphabet
  • #18 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Words & Language > Vocabulary, Slang, & Word Lists

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good vocubulary list, poor editing, September 3, 2000

By 

Robert E Hoot (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Words You Should Know (Paperback)

This book contains, as the title suggests, a good list of vocabulary words that you should know. However, the editing in the book is atrocious. There are many typographical errors and probably a dozen words that omit a second definition that is widely used. The book will help you to recognize words that you should know, just be careful before you use these new words yourself since you may be using a definition that is not widely accepted.

To its credit, this book does present the words in a manner that will help you to learn them quickly. It is also easy to read and if you can dedicate as little as 30 minutes at a time studying from it, it should expand your mind and ossify your loins ;^)

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a handy tool for students, August 20, 2004

By 

danielle (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Words You Should Know (Paperback)

I am a student in high school, and I have found this book to be quite handy in increasing one's vocabulary, especially for standardized tests such as the SAT. The words, in alphabetical order, are typed in big font with the prounciation key, part of speech, definition, and sample sentence below the word. There are quite a few words in this book (1,200) from a-z, so this should satiate the vocab-hungry.

What I like in this book are the simple, concise definitions of the words and following it, a slight elaboration on the definition. As I flipped through the book, I realized these words make good "word of the day" if one likes that kind of thing. However, I must note that some the definitions are a little too concise (too brief), so I often have to rely on the example/elaboration and/or consult a real dictionary source for clarification.

The word difficulty range is nice, from somewhat simple words like "affect" and "effect" (do you know the difference?) from words that seem, to me, even archaic at times and not exactly words one would use in a conversation: "My boss is such a troglodyte!"

Anyway, I recommend this book for students who want to build their vocabulary or other vocab-hungry people. However, if one wants extreme detail, one might have to consult an additional source. I "prognosticate" that, if put to good use, this book can make one use complex words with great "aplomb!"

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aptly Named, July 9, 2003

By 

"noshelle" (Modesto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Words You Should Know (Paperback)

This book is an excellent reference for me. The words in the book are words I would not think twice about if I heard them in conversation or read them in a novel. I know what they mean...kind of. By reading this book, however, I am able to learn a precise definition of the words so I may feel comfortable integrating them into my own vocabulary. This is exactly what I was looking for.

The definitions are not your typical dictionary definitions that leave you more confused after you've read it. They are simple and concise. Each word has a clear example that shows the word in context.

I also enjoyed that pronunciation was shown phonetically. I appreciated not having to flip back to a key somewhere in the book to figure out how to pronounce each syllable.

Overall, this book is excellent for anyone wishing to expand their vocabulary.