Websterisms: A Collection of Words and Definitions Set Forth by the Founding Father of American English

For readers who take dictionaries for granted, this creatively curated selection of Noah Webster's original entries-1,000 from the initial compilation of over 70,000-should serve as a serious eye-opener. In her witty and informative introduction, Harvard historian and New Yorker contributor Lepore recounts the tortured history of Webster's 1828 Dictionary of the American Language, focusing on the outrage that the very idea of such a book legitimizing American neologisms engendered in educated people who scorned his linguistic populism. In his essay, Schulman, a cognitive psychologist and crossword puzzle constructor, draws attention to Webster Federalism and patriotism, exemplified by his frequent citations of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and George Washington. Both essays serve as guides to the unexpectedly idiosyncratic world seen in the entries that comprise the bulk of the book: Webster can be incredibly autobiographical (the entry for ""Bathing-tub"" recounts a visit to the Royal Library at Paris), ruthlessly moral (the entry for ""slave-trade"" calls it a ""barbarous and wicked business"") and charmingly curious about the natural world, as evidenced by his lengthy and wonderful entries for animals domestic and exotic.