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Sam Johnson is one of my most unexpected fascinations. Anyone who knows me, or even browses through my web site (See The Paycheck Party for my far left wing political ideas, stolen directly from European common law) should be surprised to see an obscure figure like Dr. Johnson in any of the lists of my favorite writers and books. First, who the hell exactly is he; and second; what did he ever do that was so great if I can't even list his only real "book", Rasselas, among my favorite books? Johnson was a lower-middle class journalist around London with a flair for Latin poetry and the knack for knocking out great rounded sentences quickly and easily. From 1780 to 1790 he started knocking out some really great prose in various newspapers. His columns were called The Rambler, The Adventurer, and The Idler. He also knocked together the first truly great dictionary of the English language, using his own judgement, and a few helpers, in the attic of his London house. Buy I've converted the Gutenberg etext of Johnson's Ramblers and Adventurers into web pages, if you'd like to share my taste for impeccable english, properly written. |
