P-R-'-N-C-E-T-O-N
~mmmmm~~m~wm~wmmwm~wm~mm.mmmmm~mm~mm~
EMPIRE OF WORDS
The Reign of the OED
John Wllllnsky
erhaps no other dictionary has done more to standardize
the English language than the formidable twenty-volume
Oxford English Dictionary.
In a fascinating study, John
Wiilin.drv
challenges the authority of this imperial dictionary,
revealing
many
of its inherent prejudices and questioning the
assumptions of its ongoing revision.
Anyone
who is fascinated with words and language will
find Willinsky's tour through the OED a delightful and stimu–
lating experience.
" . .. a careful, thorough, lively history written
by
an author
who knows his dictionary and his English literature."
-Cheris Kramarae.
Cloth: $22.95 ISBN 0-691-03719-1
GOING ABROAD
European Travel in Nineteenth-Century American Culture
William
W.
Stowe
a nation struggling to establish its own identity, all kinds
Americans, for all kinds of reasons, were enchanted with
rope. Throughout the nineteenth century, celebrated
and beginning writers alike published newspaper
columns, magazine articles, guidebooks, travel
essays,
letters,
and novels based on their European
journeys.
In
Going Abroad,
William Stowe examines not
only
classic
works
by
such writers as Irving, Fuller, Twain, James, and
Adams, but also lesser-known works
by
African-American
authors, journalists, feminist writers, and diarists. Combining
literary and cultural analysis, he suggests new
ways
of under–
standing nineteenth-century Americans' concept of their na–
tion and its place in the world.
"This account marshals a wealth of unfamiliar and exciting
material to establish the importance of travel writing in nine–
teenth-century American literature... . Stowe situates Ameri–
can writers within an ongoing debate about tourism, cultural
imperialism, and the construction of a national identity."
-David Van Leer
Cloth: $24.95 ISBN 0-691-03364-1
