Top Ten Language Laughs A Life in Words [.pdf]

My father was an inveterate collector of words, sayings, and everyday humourous tidbits. He loved language carnage anyway it came, rubbernecking with the best of them. Here's his top ten in pictures.

  


For more on his collection, check out Jack White - A Life in Words.

The House of Words cover Synopsis
A note with the single word 'curare' found in the empty apartment of four-time New York State Scrabble champion Suzy Quest starts a dizzying search for her missing parents. At the heart of her search is The House of Words, a book she believes was written by her father, a protester from the Seventies who left his family under mysterious circumstances twenty years earlier and may now be working as a deep cover spy.

Is The House of Words a code detailing the workings of an international conspiracy? Is it bait for a power struggle at the top of the reformed agency? Is it Suzy's father's apologia for disappearing from her life?

Part Dan Brown, part Thomas Pynchon, The House of Words is an intellectual thriller that peels back the gloss on modern intrigue, espionage, and the search for meaning.

Quotes and comments
"Thoroughly enjoyed it. Great pace and excellent dialogue."
"It's a wonderful journey with a thrilling love story."
"If you like Scrabble, spy stories, and poignant satire this book is for you."

                     Chapters 1-3      Amazon (Kindle)

Do the Math cover

  • How do pyramid scams work? • Are reality television shows fair? •
• Why are sports so uncompetitive? • Who really broke the bank in 2009? •

Description
Do the Math! is a refreshing look at mathematical concepts and moral dilemmas in the increasingly more numerate world of everyday living. Aiming to popularize and inform, Do the Math! does for numbers what Eats, Shoots, and Leaves does for words.

Quotes and comments
"One can pop it open anywhere with equal reward."
"The style is VERY easy to read and unusually entertaining."
"The core concept of the inherent morality of mathematics is excellent."

                     Sage      Amazon      Intro      Reviews

About the author

 John K. White received a B.Sc. in Applied Physics from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and a Ph.D. from University College Dublin, Ireland.

He has worked around the world as a physicist, lecturer, project manager, and computational analyst over a 25-year career. He has worked as a project manager and technical writer for Sun Microsystems, The Netherlands Organization, and Berminghammer Foundation Equipment, consultant for Interactive Image Technologies, ScotiaBank, and the Ontario Government, and as a lecturer and research fellow at University College Dublin, and has analyzed game playing strategies, from professional sports teams to the stock market as well as many other thought provoking systems.

He is also active in promoting physics and numeracy in schools, and has published widely in academic journals, contributed chapters to edited volumes, and authored numerous technical publications. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he grew up in Toronto, Canada, and now lives and works in Dublin.