The Illustrated Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

Brilliantly researched, written, and designed book on etymology. Bonus points for cleverly weaving one word’s story into the next in seamless segues. Endlessly fascinating. Still working my way through the book as there is so much to process.

If you read "built-in bookmark" and were excited for yourself or on behalf of someone else, you're probably the demographic for this book. I originally got this as an audiobook but even though I enjoyed it, I realized I would retain it better if I read it. I almost got the regular version but I am so glad I sprung for the illustrated version. The illustrations are so fun. A nice lithograph style and I love the placement throughout the book and within the text. Full disclosure, it is a very efficient tangent into the etymology of words that sort of daisy chains into the next topic. It is akin to going down an etymological rabbit hole but in a very clever and cheeky way. I don't know that this book is for everyone but I think if you like it, you'll love it. PLUS A BUILT-IN BOOKMARK! It is trivial but I found it to be so endearing.

...than I'd hoped it would be!

I particularly wanted it for one drawing and meaning of words that it was supposed to have. It wasn't in the book and was only mentioned at the very end as a quiz and only a few not everything it was supposed to have. Also the print was very difficult to read especially the bronze print on a brown background. All in all it was a terribly produced book but they gave me a refund without any problems.

Nothing to dislike quirky humour interesting facts about language and word origins

cover has dents and cardboard stuck onto it. The book seems to be handled poorly by seller.

Über den Inhalt kann ich nichts sagen, da die technische Qualität dieses E-Books im Vergleich zu allen, die ich bisher gekauft habe, miserabel ist. Die Schrift ist unscharf, kann nicht vergrössert werden. Und all die anderen Features, welche E-Books normalerweise haben funktionieren nicht. Man hat den Eindruck, es sei als pdf gescannt worden. Was soll das?

The content is pretty good. A great coffee table book or something to flip through before bed. Good for gifting. But way overpriced considering the quality of the paper. I had to return my copy because the cover had mould stains.

Lovely book, far from exhaustive in its length it does give every interesting histories of lots of words. I have to recommend this, not only for its excellent content but it makes a very nice gift as a presentable hardback book in its own right.