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Born of Jon R. Stone's quest to deal productively with his own ignorance of Latin, Latin for the Illiterati is a superb Latin phrase dictionary that fills an important reference niche. Stone's compendium of nearly 6,000 Latin words, phrases, and abbreviations takes the onus off reading erudite texts, reduces one's fear of appearing stupid, and reintroduces the joy of thousands of well-turned phrases. Organized alphabetically within the categories of verbi (common words and expressions), dicti (common phrases and familiar sayings), and abbreviations, the dictionary offers instant Latin phrase translation gratification. Also, the English-Latin index increases the usefulness and versatility tremendously, since it enables you to find the Latin you want for your own pithy purposes, allowing you to insert impressive bon mots willy nilly. When you want to make a statement of strength, writing "invictus maneo" has it all over "I remain unconquered." And if your audience doesn't understand, well let them get Stone's guide to Latin and join the literate world. --Stephanie Gold [via]