Book is suitable for use as a door stop but not much else. note the following example which is typical: "Hypanthium: hypanthium (s.n. H), abl. sing. hypanthio." The words hypanthium and hypanthio are not further defined. Want to see more examples? I seem to find them every time I try to use the book. For me Webester's has been more useful.

A very scholarly and authoritative work to be admired by academics everywhere - almost useless as a quick means to look up what a botanical name means. If you were to take a semester or so studying this work, it would probably turn out to be very useful. For example, the chapters are broken down into Habitats, Geographical Names, Colour Terms, Greek words, Descriptive Terminology, Chemical Reactions and Tests, etc. So, if you happen to already know that sagittatus is a descriptive term, you can go to the chapter on Descriptive Terminology and find out that it means arrow-headed. If you don't already know this, good luck finding out what it means in this book.

As the quote says: "This book aims to provide a working guide to the special kind of Latin internationally used by botanists for the description and naming of plants." As such it has little or no competition and by itself sets the standard in the field.

Obviously it is not a dictionary, nor is it about plant names. For those wanting to look up current plants and their taxonomic status there is the invaluable "The plant-book" by D.J.Mabberley. For the derivation of botanical names there is "Stearn's dictionary of plant names for gardeners" by this same W.T.Stearn. Another very commendable dictionary (for a related field) is "Composition of Scientific Words" by R.W.Brown.

Usually I find Bloom's books very helpful in understanding difficult works and authors. However, in this collection, all the essays are geared toward more serious scholars of Eliot's works, rather than toward the general reader looking for more information. Yes, the editor includes some standard and well known essays about Eliot by the likes of Hugh Kenner, Northrop Frye, Richard Ellmann (Joyce's biographer) and some modern critics, but there is nothing that holds these essays together. It would have been better to organize the essays around particular works -- instead, we get a brief look at Ash Wednesday, a bit on the Wasteland, some other random poems, you get the idea. Many of these essays are outdated by now. If you are a graduate student writing your thesis on Eliot, these essays may be useful, but for the general high school student or adult who justs wants some help with understanding Eliot, try a more user-friendly series like the Twayne's Masterworks, or Norton Critical Editions.