Verbal Advantage: 10 Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary
by Charles Harrington Elster
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Book Summary Information
Author: Charles Harrington ElsterEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09-26
ISBN: 0375709320
Number of pages: 459
Publisher: Random House Reference
Book Reviews of Verbal Advantage: 10 Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary
Book Review: Great for learning new words but...
Summary: 4 Stars
Like the other reviews say, this is a wonderful book. The way it teaches the words ensure that at no time does it make you feel pressured because you were thrown into the deep end.
Most other vocabulary building books I have come across usually group the words according to root word, or some kind of linguistic group (eg. words associated with a certain occupation). That is fine but the common problem I faced was that suddenly I had to deal with a five-syllable word out of nowhere.
Thus Verbal Advantage's advantage (pardon the pun) lies in its way of teaching the simple words first then progressing onto the difficult words.
HOWEVER (and this is a big however), knowing the words alone is not enough. I say this because while Verbal Advantage (and indeed any vocabulary book) may improve one's recognition of words, it doesn't improve one's *usage* of words. And here I will take examples from the reviews at the back of the book itself:
1) "I am a small business owner, and I bought Verbal Advantage because I thought it would help with this aspect of my life." - Here the word "aspect" sounds sufficiently educated and advanced, but entirely mysterious in the context of the sentence. What "aspect" of his life is this reviewer really talking about? It would have made more sense if he had said, "I am a businessman who has to deal with a lot of contracts and paperwork, and I bought Verbal Advantage because I believed it would help with this aspect of my life."
It's much clearer now that the "aspect" of his life he is referring to is the reading and understanding of contracts and other documents pertaining to his work. Notice also that in a fairly formal piece of writing like a review, to say "I thought that..." is somewhat informal and colloquial even, and the better alternative is "I believed that..."
Another example then, from another review at the back of the book:
2) "Thank you for Verbal Advantage ... My vocabulary has not only been increased: it's been liberated."
The error here is the puzzling use of the word "liberated". Arguably the reviewer is attempting to use a metaphorical turn of phrase here by saying that her vocabulary has been set free, but how can you set free your vocabulary, even metaphorically? Better would be to say that her English has been liberated. That would imply that her language skills are now no longer bound by the limits of her vocabulary, whereas by "liberating" your vocabulary, it makes one think that it means she's going to start using advanced words freely, disregarding the appropriateness of the word usage, advanced words like "liberated" perhaps.
Therefore my point is that if one is intending to gain a mastery of the English language, merely knowing the words is not enough. Knowing how to use the words is just as important, if not more so. In the introduction of the book the author draws a relationship between success and knowing words, but I feel that he fails to point out that knowing how to use them well is half the battle, and for that no vocabulary book can help.
Certainly Verbal Advantage seems to elide this whole aspect of language mastery, or at least have trivialised it. While it does point out the difference in usuage between one word and other words of similiar meaning (but are not synonyms), it fails to point out the more subtle intricacies of the language that makes it such an exciting thing.
To say, "I evicted my tenant because of my intense disapproval of his unhygenic habits" may make me sound educated, but also boring and bureaucratic. Whereas saying that "I kicked out the guy renting my flat because he was way too dirty" loses none of the meaning, but packs an extra punch in conveying my disgust and in gaining the sympathy of my listener.
So get a volume that explains or teaches you how to use the language well (there are many out there, one good one would be Henry Fowler's excellent resource) to complement Verbal Advantage, and soon, you will not only be a master at naming the tools of the language, but a venerable expert at wielding them as well.
Summary of Verbal Advantage: 10 Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary
First time in book form! A successful program for teaching 3,500 vocabulary words that successful people need to know, based on America's #1 bestselling audio vocabulary series."People judge you by the words you use." Millions of Americans know this phrase from radio and print advertising for the Verbal Advantage audio series, which has sold over 100,000 copies. Now this bestselling information is available for the first time in book form, in an easy-to-follow, graduated vocabulary building program that teaches an outstanding vocabulary in just ten steps.
Unlike other vocabulary books, Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.
A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms.
Lively, accessible writing from an expert author and radio personality.
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