From Tyrannosaurus rex to Heteropoda davidbowie: scientific naming as a joyful and creative act. Tyrannosaurus rex. Homo sapiens. Heteropoda davidbowie. Behind each act of scientific naming is a story. In this entertaining and illuminating book, Michael Ohl considers scientific naming as a joyful and creative act. There are about 1.8 million discovered and named plant and animal species, and millions more still to be discovered. Naming is the necessary next step after discovery; it is through the naming of species that we perceive and understand nature. Ohl explains the process, with examples, anecdotes, and a wildly varied cast of characters. He describes the rules for scientific naming; the vernacular isn't adequate. These rules—in standard binomial nomenclature, the generic name followed by specific name—go back to Linnaeus; but they are open to idiosyncrasy and individual expression. A lizard is designated Barbaturex morrisoni (in honor of the Doors' Jim Morrison, the Lizard King); a member of the horsefly family Scaptia beyonceae. Ohl, a specialist in “winged things that sting,” confesses that among the many wasp species he has named is Ampulex dementor, after the dementors in the Harry Potter novels. Scientific names have also been deployed by scientists to insult other scientists, to make political statements, and as expressions of romantic love: “I shall name this beetle after my beloved wife.” The Art of Naming takes us on a surprising and fascinating journey, in the footsteps of the discoverers of species and the authors of names, into the nooks and crannies and drawers and cabinets of museums, and through the natural world of named and not-yet-named species.

A comprehensive dictionary of the meaning and derivation of scientific bird names. Many scientific bird names describe a bird's habits, habitat, distribution or a plumage feature, while others are named after their discoverers or in honour of prominent ornithologists. This extraordinary work of reference lists the generic and specific name for almost every species of bird in the world and gives its meaning and derivation. In the case of eponyms brief biographical details are provided for each of the personalities commemorated in the scientific names. This fascinating book is an outstanding source of information which will both educate and inform, and may even help to understand birds better.

A marvelously illustrated A-to-Z compendium of bird names from around the globe The Bird Name Book is an alphabetical reference book on the origins and meanings of common group bird names, from “accentor” to “zeledonia.” A cornucopia of engaging facts and anecdotes, this superbly researched compendium presents a wealth of incisive entries alongside stunning photos by the author and beautiful historic prints and watercolors. Myers provides brief biographies of prominent figures in ornithology—such as John Gould, John Latham, Alfred Newton, and Robert Ridgway—and goes on to describe the etymological history of every common group bird name found in standardized English. She interweaves the stories behind the names with quotes from publications dating back to the 1400s, illuminating the shared evolution of language and our relationships with birds, and rooting the names in the history of ornithological discovery. Whether you are a well-traveled birder or have ever wondered how the birds in your backyard got their names, The Bird Name Book is an ideal companion.

Horace G. Danner’s A Thesaurus of English Word Roots is a compendium of the most-used word roots of the English language. As Timothy B. Noone notes in his foreword: “Dr. Danner’s book allows you not only to build up your passive English vocabulary, resulting in word recognition knowledge, but also gives you the rudiments for developing your active English vocabulary, making it possible to infer the meaning of words with which you are not yet acquainted. Your knowledge can now expand and will do so exponentially as your awareness of the roots in English words and your corresponding ability to decode unfamiliar words grows apace. This is the beginning of a fine mental linguistic library: so enjoy!” In A Thesaurus of English Word Roots, all word roots are listed alphabetically, along with the Greek or Latin words from which they derive, together with the roots’ original meanings. If the current meaning of an individual root differs from the original meaning, that is listed in a separate column. In the examples column, the words which contain the root are then listed, starting with their prefixes, for example, dysacousia, hyperacousia. These root-starting terms then are followed by terms where the root falls behind the word, e.g., acouesthesia and acoumeter. These words are followed by words where the root falls in the middle or the end, as in such terms as bradyacusia and odynacusis.. In this manner, A Thesaurus of English Word Roots places the word in as many word families as there are elements in the word. This work will interest linguists and philologists and anyone interested in the etymological aspects of English language.

Preliminary Material --Introduction /Peter Day --Legend of the Vampire --Getting to know the Un-dead: Bram Stoker, Vampires and Dracula /Elizabeth Miller --"One for Ever": Desire, Subjectivity and the Threat of the Abject in Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla /Hyun-Jung Lee --Sex, Death, and Ecstacy: The Art of Transgression /Lois Drawmer --The Name of the Vampire: Some Reflections on Current Linguistic Theories on the Etymology of the Word Vampire /Peter Mario Kreuter --The Discourse of the Vampire in First World War Writing /Terry Phillips --"Dead Man Walking": The Historical Context of Vampire Beliefs /Darren Oldridge --Vampire Dogs and Marsupial Hyenas: Fear, Myth, and the Tasmanian Tiger's Extinction /Phil Bagust --Vampires for the Modern Mind --Vampire Subcultures /Meg Barker --Embracing the Metropolis: Urban Vampires in American Cinema of the 1980s and 90s /Stacey Abbott --Piercing the Corporate Veil - With a Stake? Vampire Imagery and the Law /Sharon Sutherland --The Vampire and the Cyborg Embrace: Affect Beyond Fantasy in Virtual Materialism /James Tobias --Looking in the Mirror: Vampires, the Symbolic, and the Thing /Fiona Peters --"Death to Vampires!": The Vampire Body and the Meaning of Mutilation /Elizabeth McCarthy --The Un-dead: To be Feared or/and Pitied /Nursel Icoz --"You're Whining Again Louis": Anne Rice's Vampires as Indices of the Depressive Self /Pete Remington.