"Oddly inspiring."
—The New York Times Book Review on Reading the OED

"Delicious...a lively lexicon."
—O, The Oprah Magazine on Reading the OED

After reading the Oxford English Dictionary from cover to cover, what classic, familiar, but little-read book would Ammon Shea turn to next? Yes, the phone book.

About the book: In The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads, Shea offers readers a guided tour into the surprising, strange, and often hilarious history of the humble phone book with his signature combination of humor, curiosity, and passion for combing the dustbins of history. From the first printed version in 1878 (it had 50 listings and no numbers), to the phone book's role in politics, criminal investigations, circus sideshows, mental-health diagnoses, and much more, this surprising volume reveals a rich and colorful story that has never been told—until now.

About the author:
Ammon Shea is the author of Reading the OED, as well as two previous books on obscure words, Depraved English and Insulting English (written with Peter Novobatzky). He read his first dictionary, Merriam Webster's Second International, 12 years ago, and followed it up with Webster's Third International. He has been reading dictionaries, lexicons, and glossaries ever since. He lives in New York City.