Absolutely fascinating to dip into either when you’re desperate to know the meaning of a particular word, or just interested in checking out a few random ‘isms’… for anyone interested in words and their meanings, this is a definite recommendation ―
The Bookbag
Book Description
Wonderfully illuminating and witty guide to every ism you could ever want explained
From the Inside Flap
What is an “ism?” The etymologists, harking back via medieval French and Latin to Greek words that end in “ismos,” will say those three letters are a convenient suffix: add them to a noun or adjective, or to the stem of a verb, and, to the delight of the philologists, you add meaning, distinction and nuance. Terror becomes terrorism; global becomes globalism; baptise becomes baptism. For Messrs Reagan, Thatcher and Marx, their “isms” define their political and economic ideologies, but inventive types will add “ism” to all manner of words a “Bushism,” for example, for any of the many malapropisms uttered by America’s 43rd president.
For those who want to be on top of their “isms,” here is an illuminating and witty guide to more than 400.
About the Author
Over the course of a journalistic career that began in the Middle East, John Andrews became The Economist’s most experienced foreign correspondent, with postings in Europe, Asia and America. Before joining The Economist, he wrote from and about north Africa and the Middle East for the Guardian and NBC News, interviewing personalities such as Muammar Qaddafi, Yasser Arafat and Ezer Weizman. He is the author of two books on Asia, co-author of a book on Europe and co-editor of Megachange: The World in 2050.
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