The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary - Tapa dura

"A writer for print must spell it. A writer for broadcast must pronounce it. As one who writes for both, I have used the 13-volume OED for 25 years and it has always been helpful with both. It is a pleasure now to have the Shorter OED. It is equally helpful and it has an additional virtue -- you can lift it."--David Brinkley, ABC News Broadcaster"American writers need to stay alert to the subtle differences, as well as the overlap, between American English and English English. The Shorter -- with usages from Milton to Tony Hillerman -- promises to be a key resource in this regard. As well, the new dictionary has many of the strengths of its big brother. Less arcana, but faster, easier to read."--Frank Conroy, Director, Iowa Writers' Workshop"A landmark contribution that will be of tremendous help to physicians and scientists as well as to humanists and scholars in other fields. It will undoubtedly become a standard and authoritative reference."--Arnold S. Relman, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Social Medicine"It brings the bad news with the good -- all the barbarous new words I don't want to know about, but must. It is "cool" by its own definition: admirably up to date'."--Gary Wills, Professor of History, Northwestern University and Pulitzer Prize Winning Author (Lincoln at Gettysburg)"How grand to have, at last, these indispensible volumes! No writer, and no serious reader, can afford to live without the Shorter OED. For browsers, it's a goldmine -- and you don't need a magnifying glass."--Annie Dillard, Author of The Living, The Writing Life, and Pulitzer Prize winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"Every one who cherishes the English language, its history, meaning, flavor, will rejoice in the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary and will turn to it every day for information, for precision and for the endless delights of browsing."--Arthur Schlesinger, Professor of History and Author of Disuniting of America"This dictionary maintains scholarly standards in recording all words in the language whatever their status might be."--Times Higher Education Supplement"incredible display of lexical riches ... the compilation needs no further recommendation from me. It is as considerable a work of scholarship as you will find."--Anthony Burgess, The Observer"This wonderfully successful dictionary provides historians and lawyers unparalleled understanding of the derivation and usage of words. No other dictionary of its size and unique organization even comes close. It is a must for students, teachers, and scholars, not to mention persons simply interested in the English language. A joy to read and to learn from, it is the only English language dictionary in the world that one would curl up with by the fire."--Kermit L. Hall, University of Tulsa"The SOED treats legal terms more comprehensively than any other English-language dictionary. It might even be said that the lawyer without it assumes the risk, is grossly negligent, and acquires books in bad faith and with willful turpitude. In other words, I recommend it highly."--Bryan A. Garner, LawProse, Inc.

A handy desk dictionary of English, this is a fresh abridgement of the 2nd edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, incorporating all of the key features of that volume.