April Book Review

Sheehan, M.J. (2004). Words to the Wise: A Lighthearted Look at the English Language. Traverse City, MI: Arbutus Press. 240 p. $15.00. [ISBN 0-9665316-8-X]

Author Michael Sheehan is a longtime college English professor who now hosts an AM radio show in which he answers listeners’ questions about the vagaries of the English language. Several hundred of these queries, presented in Q & A format, constitute Words to the Wise. Entries are not arranged according to particular themes, which may disappoint readers looking for a more narrative treatment such as those found in Richard Lederer’s works. But the book isn’t meant to be read from cover to cover, and the random ordering does lend itself to browsing.

Most of the questions relate to oddities of English grammar, spelling, punctuation or etymology: Where does the expression ‘naked as a jaybird’ come from? What’s the difference between a malapropism and a spoonerism? When do I use toward and towards? These types of questions usually pique our curiosity at least a little, and as Sheehan’s answers are normally limited to one paragraph, it’s easy to spend quite a while flipping through the book looking for points of linguistic trivia you may not have come across before.

Where the book chiefly disappoints is in the elementary nature of so many of the questions. Readers who make their living around books and teaching are likely to know the answers to many of the queries already, and may be surprised that Sheehan decided to include so many items that could be solved by anyone with access to a dictionary.

For some, the book’s other main drawback will be its tone. While Sheehan is mercifully not the imperious John Houseman of the AM airwaves, skewering listeners for their unpardonable ignorance, nor does he have the sharper wit of Lederer or Cecil Adams. Some readers may find the tone verging on corny, particularly if they have a low tolerance for puns.

These two flaws combine to limit the book’s likely audience. Those interested enough in language to read a book on it may not encounter anything they didn’t already know, and if their preferred style is that of The New Yorker, they won’t find satisfaction on that score either. By the same token, younger readers who really would find most of the material informative may also be disappointed by the style and prefer the tone of more ‘hip’ sources such as urbandictionary.com instead.

Still, those interested in words and language will likely find the book entertaining, and worthwhile as a test of their knowledge if nothing else. Teachers might also find that the format attracts students taxed by the demands of narrative but drawn to (in this case useful) trivia. As a bedside table or bathroom book, you could certainly do worse. Includes a foreword by Richard Lederer and a comprehensive index.

Reviewed by Jeffrey A. Boone, Student, Library and Information Science Program, Wayne State University, jboone@wayne.edu.

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