Description : At first I was surprised and a little disappointed by the format - it is arranged like a dictionary. I was expecting something that could be read through progressively. However, after getting over that, I enjoy the book. It is full of mini-articles that make interesting reading whenever there`s a few minutes to spare over coffee or lunch.

Naturally it can also be resorted to as a reference, though I could imagine that to be a hit or miss affair until you get used to its quirky look-up style, with entries on suffixes or parts of words. Sometimes I think that in the 21st century we should retreat a little to the looser rules of earlier centuries.

Do we really have to agonize so much over how best to spell import-words like felafel or taboulie? One nice thing about the book, however, is its consideration of international trends in English and its attempt to bridge between them.