Originally reviewed at my blog: http://jrlovesbooks.blogspot.in/2013/...I didn’t have any exposure to vocabulary building books before I decided to pick Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis. Why I decided to pick this book is a reason very simple. I saw it in the best sellers list on Flipkart every time I checked the said page on the site. I wanted to see what was so good about the book that made it sell in a bigger quantity than Paulo Coelho’s books (For me he is the author everybody should read. Anyway, we’d discuss that some other time).To be honest, this was one of the longest books i have read. I am not that used to reading books very big in size. A seven hundred page book is often a mammoth for me. But this was the book that keeps you completely gripped. It leaves you awestruck with the ability of the author to make you learn new words and with your own self learning them.I always wondered what vocabulary building books would be like. Probably a lot of preaching and a bazillion words in a list that you are supposed to memorise kind of thing was what my imagination suggested. But Word Power Made Easy was nothing at all like that.Norman Lewis interacts with you. He tells you stories, the histories, jokes with you, is sarcastic of several things, supporting many, and giving you wonderfully superb pieces of advice that you love to take. It is no preaching. It is a friendly relationship with the reader and making him learn many, many useful things.The idea that Norman Lewis upholds in the entire book is “No Learning Words. But Learning the Ideas Behind the Words.” It is quite hard to guess what exactly he means by that initially, but as you leaf through the masterpiece, you realise that it is the ideas that you need to build your vocabulary, not a list of words.Norman Lewis exposes to us the world we would never have given a thought about, normally. If there’s a word we use, how did it come to existence, and from where. Lewis tells us the stories behind innumerable words which are hard to forget. You might have a faulty memory about remembering words, but the idea stays with you and so does the word. I still remember many stories about the words that Norman Lewis tells us, and it still brings back the scintillating memories that I’d get while reading them. This ‘idea behind the word’ is Norman Lewis’ weapon to make you remember the words you have never heard of before. And the idea of the ideas simply rocks. Also, the way he puts them, is exceptionally witty and it compels you to fall in love with Lewis’ sense of humour. I haven’t smiled as much reading any book as I have smiled while reading this one.Trust me, it is a treat to read this book. One of my favourite ones is this, from the segment: How to Talk about Various Speech Habits:Saying little – meaning muchThere is an anecdote about Calvin Coolidge, who, when he was the president of USA, was often called (though probably not to his face) ‘Silent Cal’.A Young newspaper woman was sitting next to him at a banquet, so the story goes, and turned to him mischievously.“Mr. Coolidge,” she said, “I have a bet with my editor that I can get you to say more than two words to me this evening.”“You lose,” Coolidge rejoined simply.The adjective: laconic.I would highly recommend this to everybody who loves words or wants to add to his vocabulary. This is certainly the best book you would find of its kinds out there.
Norman Lewis knows how to teach vocabulary in a way that helps new words stick. In Word Power Made Easy, he does this in several ways:1. New words are divided into thematic chapters that make it easy to draw connections between the words. Some chapters are straightforward and closely connected, like "How to Talk About Doctors" or "How to Talk About Science and Scientists." Others are based on a part of speech, like verbs, as in "How to Talk About Actions" and "How to Talk About What Goes On." And some are just plain fun, like "How to Talk About Liars and Lying," "How to Insult Your Enemies," and "How to Flatter Your Friends." 2. He uses etymology as the scaffold to help build a knowledge of many related words simultaneously. After introducing the basic words for each section, he discusses the word's roots and teaches many words with the same origin. It makes it easy to remember the new words' relationships to each other. My two favorite etymologies were both words derived from the Greek root phanein, to show. The first, the word sycophant, also derives from Greek sykon, a fig, and literally means a "fig-shower." As the book explains, "When a fellow wants to get a good mark, he may polish up an apple and place it on a teacher's desk; his classmates call such a lad an apple-shiner. Less complimentary localities use the term bootlicker." Now when I think of sycophant, I picture a Greek schoolboy with a fig, and the word has stuck. The second, the word diaphanous, uses phanein, to show, with dia-, which means through. Thus, something that is diaphanous shows through, or is practically transparent.3. All words are reviewed multiple times in exercises throughout the book that use a variety of ways to measure recall and understanding. You can't get by with merely memorizing a definition for many of the exercises. You really have to comprehend the word and its relation to its synonyms and antonyms.I just completed this book as part of homeschool high school English for my two oldest daughters. I will use it again with all my six children, as I rate it first among all vocabulary-building books we have ever used.
What do You think about Word Power Made Easy (1991)?
Great book for to build one's vocabulary , It provides reader with a Idea related to a word , a memoir related to that word so that person could attach to that and word remained instilled in his/her mind . It tells the origin and relation of words like 'Bibliophile' , Its made from Latin word biblio for books and Latin verb philein , to write . It guides about a society of words "like words to insult one's enemy' or 'word's to talk about people' or 'words to talk about doctors' etc . One can become a amateur etymologist too which would a great in figuring out meaning of words with whom one ain't familiar with.
—Teanasce
"A new word is not just another pattern of syllables with which to clutter you mind --A new word is a new idea to help you think, to help you understand the thoughts of others, to help you express your own thoughts, to help you live a richer intellectual life." pg. 141I immensely enjoyed this book. It is a interesting read on its own, as well as a reference guide and a grammatical aid. It will sit next to my dictionary for a long time and will be used frequently. It is a perfect tool for someone looking to expand their lexicon, whether they be in their teens, twenties, thirties or older. It's perfect for logophiles and those who are striving to increase their literary education. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in words or their etymology.
—Daisy Holtel
