Tells the stories, legends, and facts behind the origins of common American expressions.

"A compendium of curious expressions and intriguing facts"--Jacket subtitle.

Excerpts from and citations to reviews of more than 8,000 books each year, drawn from coverage of 109 publications. Book Review Digest provides citations to and excerpts of reviews of current juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction in the English language. Reviews of the following types of books are excluded: government publications, textbooks, and technical books in the sciences and law. Reviews of books on science for the general reader, however, are included. The reviews originate in a group of selected periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and general science published in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. - Publisher.

Entertaining, eminently readable volume compiles words and phrases coined or popularized by American presidents. Alphabetical listings feature a definition and (usually) a brief discussion that places them in historical context.

Concise discussions of the lives and principal works of American writers, thinkers, and cultural figures, written by subject experts.

An author subject index to selected general interest periodicals of reference value in libraries.

Every 3rd issue is a quarterly cumulation.