Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases (Penguin Reference)

I bought this copy after my old one literally fell to bits after years of constant use. The content is the same so it has the potential to provide one with a huge variety of different words and phrases in the same way my beloved previous copy did. However, I gave it two stars only as the print is SO small that I had to give up using it after five minutes. I would strongly recommend you buy an edition that you can acually SEE.

I bought it with other books of this type for my husband and he is enjoying using it

This book follows all features of the makings of a good maze; you choose an entry and follow it. Then, you make a choice of what sub-route to follow. This procedure is repeated over and over again until you end up in a room that is a pool of hundreds of words, where you forget what led you here in the first place while you are drowning. This is not a tool, this deserves a whole subject of study itself.

When my old Roget's wore out, I hesitated to buy another – aren't there free on-line services which do the same thing? Wrong. The Penguin Reference Roget's is infinitely superior to the on-line thesaurus services. By narrowing down the scope of the word you're looking for in the index (eg "tired" is subdivided into "inactive", "sleepy" or "fatigued") you rapidly reach exactly the synonyms or related words you're looking for. If you want to improve your English vocabulary and write with concision and style, the printed book remains unbeatable. It's also fun to browse, and makes a great gift.

Conclusion: after 150 years, still a powerful writing tool.

...this is one of the few books that you can actually use to self-educate. Most fairly literate people progress language acquisition through modifying existing structures and definitions. In this respect a source that actually arranges itself systematically in terms of synonyms and antonyms rather than just defining certain words is always going to win through.

As a teacher of English to young children and an aspiring writer, this edition is an invaluable tool because of its,
* lay-out (seems daunting on first viewing, but it does make sense)
* price
* range (essentially words of common usage as opposed to strictly technical vocab)
* distinction between the different 'Englishes' - I feel that this is relevant to anyone concerned with the cultural predominance of 'American English'

Every home needs one - and this is undoubtedly the best and quite possibly the cheapest.