A writer's bibliography

People ask me for advice on books to get when they want to improve their command of written (or indeed even spoken) English, so I have given details of some of the books I know on the subject. I have also included dictionaries of various kinds of specialized subjects including phrases and quotations, and books on language history and linguistics both of English and generally, on writing successfully, on the history of writing and signs and symbols, and on the lore of books. Let me make it clear that I own a printed copy of each of the books listed here. (I haven't just picked out a bunch of titles from the public library or bookstore websites!)

General dictionaries (& thesauri) of the English language

The American Heritage Dictionary - Second College Edition (1568 pp.)	Staff under Margery S. Berube Director of Editorial Operations	Houghton Mifflin Company 1976	0395329434
The Cassell Concise Dictionary “Major New Edition” but also “first published 1997” after “Cassell's English Dictionary first published 1891; Cassell's Concise English Dictionary first published 1989; The Cassell Concise English Dictionary last revised edition 1994” (xiv + 1711 pp.)	Consultant Editor Lesley Brown	Cassell 1989, 1997	0304347795
Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary “New Edition” 1972 (xii + 1649pp.)	Edited by A M Macdonald, OBE BA	Chambers 1972..74	055010206X
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (x + 1654 pp.)	Editor-in-Chief Mairi Robinson	Chambers / Larousse 1996	0550105880
The Chambers Dictionary (xviii + 2062 pp.)	Managing editor Catherine Schwarz	Chambers Harrap 1994	0550102558
Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary (COBUILD = Collins Birmingham University International Language Database) (xxiv + 1703 pp.)	Editor in Chief John Sinclair	Collins 1987	0003700232
Collins English Dictionary “Complete and unabridged” - Sixth edition (xvi + 1872 pp.)	Editors led by Jeremy Butterfield	Harper Collins Publishers 2003	0007109822
New Collins Thesaurus “A Creative Wordfinder in Dictionary Form”	Managing Editor William T. McLeod	Collins 1984..87	0004330587
The DK Illustrated Oxford Dictionary (1008 pp.) (DK = Dorling Kindersley Limited)		DK Publishing Inc & Oxford University Press	0789435578
Encarta World English Dictionary (xxxii + 2175 pp.)	Editor-in-Chief Dr Kathy Rooney	Bloomsbury Publishing 1999	0747543712
Funk & Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary of the English Language “Emphatype Edition” (1572 + xviii pp. In two volumes)	Editor Charles Earle Funk, Litt.D.	Funk & Wagnalls Company 1956
Longman Dictionary of the English Language (1876 + xxviii pp.)	Prof. Randolph Quirk (chairman of panel of experts)	Longman Group/Merriam-Webster 1984	0582555116
The Macquarie Dictionary “The National Dictionary” [of Australian English] - Second Edition (2048 + xxvi pp.)	Edited by A Delbridge, JRL Bernard, D Blair, P Peters, & S Butler	The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd (2nd Ed.) 1991..5	0949757632
The Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles - First Edition, Compact Edition (4116 + xiv pp. in two volumes reproducing, photographically reduced four per side, 16464 + xxxii pp. in the original publication)	Staff chiefly under James Murray (see “The Meaning of Everything” 2003)	BCA 1979 & Oxford University Press 1971	Abbrev: OED1
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles Third Edition (2672 + xxx pp. in two volumes)	W Little, H W Fowler & J Coulson Rev. & Ed. C T Onions	Clarendon Press Oxford 1973..77
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English - Ninth edition	Edited by Della Thompson	Clarendon Press Oxford 1995
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English -Sixth edition	Edited by J.B.Sykes	Oxford University Press 1976
The Little Oxford Dictionary -Sixth edition	Edited by Julia Swannell	Oxford at the Clarendon Press 1986	0198611889
The New Penguin English Dictionary (1642 + xii pp.)	Consultant Editor Robert Allen	Penguin Books 2000 (ISBN 2003)	014051533X
Reader's Digest Universal Dictionary	Consultant Editor Dr Robert Ilson	Reader's Digest 1987	0276411587
Roget's International Thesaurus Third Edition		Collins 1963..72	0004340515
The Times English Dictionary (1882 + xxxviii pp.)	General Consultant J.M. Sinclair	HarperCollins 2000	0004724607
Webster's Third New International Dictionary Unabridged with Seven Language Dictionary (3136+72 pp. In three volumes)	Editor-in-Chief Philip B Gove	Merriam Webster Company 1971	0877790019
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (1536 + 32 pp.)
New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language - Deluxe Encyclopedic Edition (2120 + xxx pp.)	Staff under Dana F. Kellerman	Delair Publishing Co Inc 1981

Specialized English dictionaries

Special aspects of English vocabulary

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations: The abbreviations of the modern world explained - in full	Edited by Market House books & OUP editors	Oxford University Press 1992	0198691726
The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Words	George Stone Saussy III	Penguin Books1984
The Illustrated Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words	The Diagram Group	Robson Books 2000	1861053215
Room's Dictionary of Confusibles	Adrian Room	Routledge & Kegan Paul 1979..81	0710001207
Chambers Dictionary of Idioms	Compiled by Penny Hands	Chambers Harrap 1996	0550107304
Twentieth Century Words - The story of the new words in English over the last hundred years	John Ayto	Oxford University Press 1999
The Oxford Dictionary of New Words - The intriguing stories behind 2,000 new words in the news	Edited by Elizabeth Knowles with Julia Elliott	Oxford University Press 1997
The Oxford Dictionary of New Words - A popular guide to words in the news	Compiled by Sarah Tulloch	Oxford University Press 1991
Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs	Rosemary Courtney	Addison Wesley Longman 1983..97	0582058643
Cassell Guide to Related Words - New Edition	S.I.Hayakawa, Eugene Ehrlich	Cassell (HarperCollins) 1994

Special modes of presentation

Reader's Digest Reverse Dictionary (768 pp.)	Editor John Ellison Kahn, MA, Dphil	Reader's Digest 1989
The Facts on File Visual Dictionary “Look up the word from the picture find the picture from the word.”	Editor-in-chief Jean-Claude Corbell	Facts on File Publications, Éditions Québec/Amériwue Inc. 1988	0948894067

Phrase

Brewer 's Dictionary of Twentieth Century Phrase & Fable - 2nd Edition	E. Cobham Brewer, LLD	Cassell (Market House Books) 1991 2nd Edition 1993	0304343714
The Dictionary of Phrase & Fable	E. Cobham Brewer, LLD	Avenel Books NY 1978	0517259214
A Dictionary of Catch Phrases British and American, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day - Second Edition	Eric Partridge Edited by Paul Beale	Routledge 2nd Ed. 1985..93	041505916X
Dictionary of Modern Phrase	Graeme Donald	Simon Schuster 1994	0671713094
The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins	Robert Hendrickson	Facts on File Publications 1987	0816010129
Phrases & Sayings	Nigel Rees	Bloomsbury 1995
I Hear America Talking -An Illustrated History of American Words and Phrases	Stuart Berg Flexner	Touchstone Books (Simon & Schuster) 1976	0671249940

Slang

Dictionary of Contemporary Slang	Tony Thorne	Bloomsbury 1990..97	074752856X
Macquarie Book of Slang -Australian Slang in the 90s	General editor James Lambert	Macquarie Library 1996
Roger's Profanisaurus		VIZ

Specialized terminology or subject matter

The BCS Glossary of ICT and Computing Terms - Eleventh Edition (452 + xxbsp;pp.)
The Dreamer's Dictionary -the interpretation of dreams	Stearn Robinson & Tom Corbett	Treasure Press 1974..91	0907812937
IEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical & Electronics Terms - Second Edition An American National Standard approved 12 May 1978 (882 + xii pp.)	Editor-in-Chief Frank Jay	IEEE, Inc. New York with Wiley-Interscience a division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1977..8
The Faber Dictionary of Euphemisms	R.W.Holder	Faber & Faber 1987..89
Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore	Alison Jones	Larousse 1995	0752300121
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms	Chris Baldick	Oxford University Press 1991	0198661797
Concise Medical Dictionary	Editor Elizabeth A. Martin MA	Oxford University Press 1980
The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes	Edited by Iona and Peter Opie	Oxford University Press 1951..92	TSP
The Skeptic's Dictionary -A collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions & dangerous delusions	Robert Todd Carroll	Wiley 2003	0471272426

Crossword puzzles

Chambers Crossword Dictionary (904 + xxxix pp.)
The Complete Crossword Companion	Jeremy Howard-Williams	HarperCollins
Concise Crossword Dictionary (448 pp.)	Tiger Books International	Geddes & Grosset 1993	1855013266
Collins Pocket Reference Puzzle Solver	Managing Editor Marian Makins	HarperCollins 1994	0004706722

Dictionaries of names

A Dictionary of English Place-Names	A.D.Mills	Oxford University Press1993
The Guinness Book of Names	Leslie Dunkling	Guinness Superlatives 1974
The Oxford Names Companion comprising A Dictionary of Surnames, A Dictionary of First Names and A Dictionary of British Place-Names (xvi + 1264 pp.)	Patrick Hanks Flavia Hodges A.D.Mills Adrian Room	Oxford University Press 2002	0198605617
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names - Third Edition	E.G. Withycombe	Oxford University Press 1945.. 3rd Edition 1977..93
The Penguin Dictionary of Proper Names	Based on the original edition by Geoffrey Payton revised and updated by John Paxton	Viking (Penguin Group) 1969..91	0670825735

Dictionaries of quotations

Cassell Companion to Quotations	Nigel Rees	Cassell 2001	0304357200
Cassell Dictionary of Anecdotes	Nigel Rees	Cassell 1999	0304351954
Cassell Dictionary of Insulting Quotations	Jonathon Green	Cassell 1996	0304349267
Cassell Dictionary of Regrettable Quotations	David Milsted	Cassell 1999	0304352136
Cassell's Humorous Quotations	Nigel Rees	Cassell 1997	030435192X
Chambers Dictionary of Modern Quotations	Nigel Rees	Chambers/TSP 1993
Going To Hades Is Easy - Facilis Descensus Averno - Witty Latin sayings by wise Romans	Compiled and translated by Rose Williams	Michael O'Mara Books 2000	1854795899
The Guiness Dictionary of Poisonous Quotations	Compiled by Colin Jarman	Guiness Publishing 1991	0851129587
Like A Fish Needs A Bicycle	Edited by Anne Stibbs	Bloomsbury 1992	074751173X
The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations	Ned Sherrin	Oxford University Press 1995	0192142445
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Second Edition		Oxford University Press 1953..75
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Third Edition		Oxford University Press 1979..81
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Third Edition Special Edition for IBM United Kingdom Limited		Oxford University Press for IBM 1988
Quotations For Our Time	Compiled by Dr Laurence Peter	Souvenir Press 1977..96	0285633104
Music Lovers' Quotations	Edited by Helen Exley	Exley Publications 1991..94	1850152675

Lexicography: dictionaries and their history

A Guide to the Oxford English Dictionary - The essential companion and user's guide	Donna Lee Berg	Oxford University Press 1993	0198691793
Chasing the Sun - Dictionary Makers and the Dictionaries They Made	Jonathon Green	Pimlico (Random House) 1997	0712662162
The Surgeon of Crowthorne - A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words	Simon Winchester	Viking / Penguin Group 1998	0670878626
The Meaning of Everything - The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary	Simon Winchester	Oxford University Press 2003	0198607024
Johnson's Dictionary - A Modern Selection	E.L.McAdam, Jr. & George Milne	BCA

Reference guidance on English grammar & usage

Books in this table may or may not concentrate on American English, or British English, or other standards; but for all books A or B or X respectively in the first column indicates the author's expected starting point. Books that carefully cover equally all English speaking countries have no indication.

	A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (At 1779 pages, the biggest textbook of grammar.)	Prof. Sir Randolph Quirk, CBE, FBA; Prof. Sidney Greenbaum; Prof. Geoffrey Leech; Prof. Jan Svartvik	Longman 1985	0582517346
B	The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar	Sylvia Chalker & Edmund Weiner	BCA in association with Oxford University Press 1994
	The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (Third Edition)	R.W. Burchfield (Editor)	Oxford University Press 1996 and updates	0198691262
B	A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (Second Edition)	H.W. Fowler, revised by Sir Ernest Gowers	Oxford University Press 1968	0198691157
A	Modern American Usage (a “Fowler” for Americans)	Wilson Follett edited and completed (after Follett's death) by Jacques Barzun.	Hill and Wang 1966
A	Modern American Usage (for pre-WW2 British people unfamiliar with, but planning to visit, the United States)	H.W.Horwill (an English author)	Oxford University Press 1935
X	Australian English Style Guide	Pam Peters	Cambrisge University Press 1995	0521576342
B	Practical English Usage (Second Edition)	Michael Swan	Oxford University Press1980, 1995	019431197 pbk
B	The Complete Plain Words	Sir Ernest Gowers	Pelican Books 1962..69
B	The Complete Plain Words	Sir Ernest Gowers Revised by Sidney Greenbaum & Janet Whitcut	HMSO 1986	0117011215
A	The Elements of Style (3^rd Edition with index)	William Strunk Jr. and E.B.White	Macmillan 1959, 1972, 1979 ...	0024182001
B	The King's English (third edition)	H.W. Fowler and F.G.Fowler	Oxford University Press1931
B	The King's English (new version) by Kingsley Amis		HarperCollins 1997/8	0006387462
B	Usage and Abusage 4^th edition (revised)	Eric Partridge	Hmish Hamilton 1948
A	The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing	Thomas S. Kane	Berkeley Books 2000; Oxford University Press 1988	0425176401
B	A Concise Dictionary of Correct English	B.A.Phythian	Hodder & Stoughton 1979	0340240601
B	Rediscover Grammar with David Crystal	David Crystal	Longman Group 1988	0582002583
B	Overseas Students' Companion to English Studies	J.B.Heaton & J.P.Stocks	Longmans 1966
B	English Lessons for English People	Edwin A. Abbott, DD and Sir J.R.Seeley, KCMG	Seeley & Co Ltd 1906
B	Collins Good Writing Guide	Graham King et al. (Foreword by Philip Howard)	Collins 2001/BCA 2004

Reference guides on English punctuation

A	The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation	Rene J. Cappon	Perseus 2003	0738207853
B	Cassell's Guide to Punctuation	Loreto Todd	Cassell 1995	0304357863
B	Chambers Guide to Punctuation	Edited by Kay Cullen	Chambers Harrap 1999	0550141405
B	Collins Wordpower: Punctuation	Graham King	HarperCollins 2000	0004723732
A	Improve Your Punctuation	Nicole Irving	Usborne 2000	0746042388
B	One Step Ahead: Punctuation	Robert Allen	Oxford University Press 2002	0198604394
B	The Penguin Guide to Punctuation	R.L. Trask	Penguin 1997	0140513663
A	Pocket Guide to Punctuation (2^nd Edition)		Merriam Webster 2001	0877795177
A	Write Right: A Desktop Digest of Punctuation, Grammar & Style	Jan Venolia	Ten Speed Press 1979..2001	1580083285
B	Eats, Shoots & Leaves	Lynne Truss	Profile Books 2003	1861976127

Publishing style guides

The Oxford Manual of Style previously published as The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors & The Oxford Guide to Style	Edited and compiled by R. M. Ritter	BCA in association with Oxford University Press 2002
Copy-Editing - The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors and Publishers	Judith Butcher	Cambridge University Press 1992..2003	0521400740
“The Times” Style and Usage Guide	Compiled by Tim Austin	Times Books	0007145055
A Manual of Style (I have the 12th Edition; it is now at 14^th Edition, at least)	Editors at the University of Chicago Press	University of Chicago Press
Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers	Harold Evans (Fully Revised by Crawford Gillan)	Pimlico 2000	0712664475

Discussion of English grammar, style & usage

The Queen's English	Harry Blamires	Bloomsbury 1994	0747517061
The Grouchy Grammarian - A How-Not-To Guide to the 47 Most Common Mistakes in English Made by Journalists, Broadcasters, and Others Who Should Know Better	Thomas Parrish	John Wiley / BCA 2002
Between You and I	James Cochrane Introduced by John Humphrys	Icon Books 2004	1840464836
Lapsing into A Comma	Bill Walsh (of the Washington Post)	Contemporary Books 2000	0809225352
On Language	William Safire	Avon Books 1981	0380564572
The Language Report	Susie Dent	Oxford University Press 2003	0198608608
The State of the Language	Philip Howard	Hamish Hamilton 1984	0241113466
Depraved English	Peter Novobatzky & Ammon Shea	Robert Hale 1999	0709065531
Media Speak	Fritz Spiegl	Elm Tree Books 1989	0241127041
Word Watcher's Handbook	Phyllis Martin	St Martin's Press 1977..82	0312889380

Discursive guidance about writing - in general, and specifically books

On Writing Well - The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction: Sixth Edition - Revised and Updated	William Zinsser	HarperPerennial 1998	0062735233
Stein on Writing	Sol Stein	St Martin's Press 1995	031`2136080
Solutions for Writers	Sol Stein	Souvenir Press 1995..9	0285634445

The First Five Pages	Noah Lukeman	Simon & Schuster	068485743X
Strictly Speaking	Edwin Newman	Warner Books 1975
Elements of the Writing Craft	Robert Olmstead	Story Press (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1998	1884910297
Writing at Work Dos, DON'Ts and HOW Tos	Ernst Jacobi	Hayden 1976..84	0810457296
Writing for the BBC	Norman Longmate	BBC Books	0563204680
The Way To Write - A Complete Guide to the Basic Skills of Good Writing (Poor & with many errors. IPH)	John Fairfax and John Moat Foreword by Tred Hughes	Elm Tree Books 1981	0241105579

How to write fiction (especially novels)

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers - How to edit yourself into print	Renni Browne and Dave King	Quill/ HarperResource (HarperCollins) 1994..2001	0062720465
The Writer's Guide to Character Traits	Linda N. Edelstein, PhD	Writer's Digest Books 1999	0898799015
Sell The A Story	Jean Leroy	Pan 1965
The Art of Fiction	David Lodge	Secker & Warburg 1992	0436256711
The Practice of Writing	David Lodge	Penguin Books 1996	0140261060
Novelist's Essential Guide toCrafting Scenes	Raymond Obstfeld	Writer's Digest Books 2000	0898799732
How To Grow A Novel -The most common mistakes writers make and how to overcome them	Sol Stein	ST Martin's Press 1999	0312209495
Twenty Master Plots and how to build them	Ronald B. Tobias	Writer's Digest Books 1993	0749919833

The linguistics (history, etymology, structure, &c.) and state of the English language

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language	David Crystal	Cambridge University Press 1995..97	0521596556
Alphabet to Email - How written English Evolved and Where It's Heading	Naomi S. Baron	Routledge 2000	0415186862
A History of the English Language -Third Edition	Albert C. Baugh & Thomas Cable	Routledge & Kegan Paul 1951..87	0710001053
Old English	Leslie Blakeley	Teach Yourself Books 1964
Wordpower	Edward de Bono	Penguin Books 1979..88
Mother Tongue	Bill Bryson	Penguin Books 1990	014014305X
Made In America	Bill Bryson	Minerva 1994	074939739X
Unlocking the English Language	Robert Burchfield	Faber & Faber 1989
Points of View - An entertaining look at words and meanings	Robert Burchfield	Oxford University Press 1992	0192829432
Accomodating Brocolli in the Cemetary - or why can't anybody spell?	Vivian Cook	Profile Books 2004	1861976232
English as a Global Language - Second Edition	David Crystal	Cambridge University Press 1997..2003
The English Language	David Crystal	Pelican / Penguin Books 1988..90	0140135324
O Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun - An etymology of words that once were names	Willard R. Espy	Clarkson N. Potter Inc.1978	0517535114
Slang Down the Ages	Jonathon Green	Kyle Cathie Limited 1993
The Book of Babel - Words and the way we see things	Nigel Lewis	Viking / Penguin Group 1994	0670830801
Bloomsbury Good Word Guide	Edited by Martin H.Manser	Bloomsbury 1988..90
Words and Women -Language and the sexes / New Language in New Times	Casey Miller and Kate Swift	Pelican / Penguin Books 1976
Frantic Semantics -Snapshots of our Changing Language	John Morrish	The Daily Telegraph / Macmillan 1999	0333763521
English - An Introduction to Language	Thomas Pyles & John Algeo	*Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (no date)`*	0155226428
They Have a Word for It - A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases	Howard Rheingold	Sarabande Books (Louisville, Kentucky) 1998..2000	1889330469
Poplollies & Bellibones - A celebration of lost words	Susan Kelz Sperling	Robson Books 1978	0860510522

Humour “dictionaries”

Daffy Definitions	Joseph RosenBloom	Sterling Publishing Co. 1983
The Unholy Hymnal - Terminological Inexactitudes and Delusions rendered by [a list of American politicians]	Compiled by Albert E. Kahn	Wolfe 1971	073204488
The Uxbridge English Dictionary Seventeenth Edition (approx.) Completely Revived	*Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, Jon Naismith, Iain Pattinson (and many other comedians who appeared on I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue)*	HarperCollins Entertainment 2005	0007203373

Linguistics & psychology of language

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language	David Crystal	Cambridge University Press 1987	0521424437
Language Change: Progress or Decay?	Jean Aitchison	Fontana 1981
The Story of Language	C.L.Barber	Pan Books 1964
Language Made Plain	Anthony Burgess	Fontana/Collins 1964, 1975
A Mouthful of Air - Language and Languages, Especially English	Anthony Burgess	Vintage 1993 (Hutchinson 1992)
Grammatical Man - Information, Entropy, Language and Life; the Story of the Modern Revolution in Human Thought	Jeremy Campbell	Pelican / Penguin Books 1982	0140225048
Genes, Peoples and Languages	Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza	Penguin Books 2000	071399486X
Mouse or Rat? -Translation as Negotiation	Umberto Eco	Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2003	0297830015
Le Ton beau de Marot - In Praise of the Music of Language	Douglas R. Hofstadter	Bloomsbury 1997	0747533490
Speak - a short history of language	Tore Janson	Oxford University Press 2002	0198299788
Comparative Linguistics	Robert Lord	Teach Yourself Books 1966
The Language Instinct	Steven Pinker	Penguin Books 1994	0140175296
Words And Rules - The Ingredients of Language	Steven Pinker	Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1999	0297816470
The Blank Slate - The Modern Denial of Human Nature	Steven Pinker	Penguin Books 2003
Language In The Modern World	Simeon Potter	Pelican / Penguin Books 1960..64
Modern Linguistics - The Results of Chomsky's Revolution	Neil Smith and Deirdre Wilson	Pelican / Penguin Books1979..86	0140220690
Language and Silence Essays 1958-1966	George Steiner	Faber & Faber 1967
Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics	R.L.Trask	Routledge 1999	0415157420
Stylistics	G.W.Turner	Pelican / Penguin Books 1973..79	014021643X
Keywords -A Vocabulary of Culture and Society	Raymond Williams	Fontana 1976

The history and study of writing; semiotics

The Secret Lore of Runes and other Ancient Alphabets	Nigel Pennick	Rider 1991	0712639632
The Alphabetic Labyrinth - The Letters in History and Imagination	Johanna Drucker	Thames and Hudson1999	0500280681
The Alphabet	David Sacks	Hutchinson 2003	0091795060
The Dictionary of Symbols -an illustrated guide to traditional images, icons and emblems	Jack Tresidder	Duncan Baird Publishers 1997	1900131625
The Dictionary of Symbols in Art -the illustrated key to Western painting and sculpture	Sarah Carr-Gomm	Duncan Baird Publishers	1900131897
The Continuum Encyclopedia of Symbols	Udo Becker translated by Lance W Garmer	Continuum 2000	0826412211
Making the Alphabet Dance - Recreational Wordplay	Ross Eckler	Macmillan 2001	033390334X
Signs and Symbols -Their Design and Meaning	Adrian Frutiger translated by Andrew Bluhm	Ebury Press 1978..1998	0091864828

Bibliophilia: the history, parts, and love of books

Invisible Forms - A Guide to Literary Curiosities	Kevin Jackson	Picador 1999	0330371150
Ex Libris - Confessions of a Common Reader	Anne Fadiman	Allen Lane The Penguin Press 1998	0713993154
The Book of Prefaces	Alasdair Gray	Bloomsbury 2000	0747544433
Now all we need is a Title -Famous Book Titles and How They Got That Way	André Bernard	W.W.Norton & Co 1994	0393314367
Rotten Rejections -The Letters That Publishers Wish They'd Never Sent	Edited by André Bernard	Robson Books

Literary Criticism

Flame Into Being - The life and work of D.H.Lawrence

Anthony Burgess

Abacus 1985