In this era of the internet and Google, one wonders why there would be a need for reference books in print (aside from times of the occasional power outage). But internet sites aren’t always comprehensive or “extraordinarily literate.” In the case of online thesauri, I tend to rely on thesaurus.com. But I check this book as well, because it often has very useful entries not provided on that website. For instance, take the noun “official” meaning “administrator” or “dignitary.” This book has terrific synonyms you won’t find at thesaurus.com, such as bashaw, chamberlain, chiaus, Dogberry, Junker, Master of the Revels, Pooh Bah, waldgrave, and so on. For “medicine man,” thesaurus.com has some the book doesn’t, like mundunugu and wangateur, but the book has some the website omits, such as angakok, curandero, and kahuna.

For common words like “interesting,” this book only provides a few synonyms, and you are better off with the web. But for even slightly less common words (like “banker”) and phrases (like “New Testament Books”), this book is still an excellent resource, and includes literary and foreign references not readily provided online. ( )

Somehow it seems like this book should be longer and contain more words--my same complaint about almost all thesauri--oh well it is what it is, and i do use it ( )

A gift from my mom.