Book Reviewed by:
Anne Curzan, author of Says Who?, has some compelling bona fides when it comes to remarking upon English grammar and usage. Not only is she a linguistics professor, she was also for many years a member of the illustrious (and somewhat mysterious) American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Usage Panel. If you, like me, own a copy of the American Heritage Dictionary in no small part because you enjoy the usage notes it includes, you will likely find Curzan's insights into the makeup and process of the Usage Panel fascinating.
The American Heritage Usage Panel was composed, most recently, of nearly 200 "scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language." When the American Heritage Dictionary was launched in 1969, it was in part a reaction to the perceived permissiveness of Webster's Third New International Dictionary, published in 1961, which included entries for words based on their usage, without labeling them ...
