From Publishers Weekly

Vaughan, who has edited most of Buckley's books since 1976, has "selected, assembled and edited with an introduction and sundry comments" a sprawling, annotated scrapbook of Buckley's nonpolitical jottings on the subject of writing English well. Topics range from notes he's sent people who have dared to correct his grammar, to letters to old friends and enemies on matters dealing with English usage, to book reviews, interviews, selected columns, essays and even obituaries, the last of which are especially flavorful. The book's conclusion is worthy of Dr. Johnson himself, a 100-page "lexicon" of words and phrases?partita, paternalistic, paucity, pedagogical?used over the years by Buckley. Much of this book has already appeared in print scattered over a lifetime of publishing, but Buckley's admirers will be delighted by the generous sampling of the author's correspondence. Vaughan's notes, introductions and running commentary more than do the job of holding together this sometimes unwieldy collection. They are downright entertaining in themselves.

Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Vaughan, currently editor-at-large for Random House, has edited nearly all of Buckley's 35 books since 1976. In this collection, he showcases Buckley's "language in action" rather than focusing on his politics. Vaughan has included Buckley's pieces on the uses and abuses of language, reviews, letters, and journalism, among many other things. Whether responding to letters to National Review, being interviewed, or skewering a reviewer, Buckley is prolific and provocative, influential and infuriating, and always intellectually stimulating. In an appendix, there is a lexicon of words defined and used by the master grammarian. This veritable cornucopia of language and logic belongs in every library.?Cathy Sabol, Northern Virginia Community Coll., Manassas

Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.