From head to toe to breast to behind, "Carnal Knowledge" is a delightfully intoxicating tour of the words we use to describe our bodies. Did you know:
-eye is one of the oldest written words in the English language?
-callipygian means "having beautiful buttocks"?
-gam, a slang word for "leg," comes from the French word "jambe"?
A treat for anyone who gets a kick out of words, "Carnal Knowledge" is also the perfect gift for anyone interested in the human body and the many (many, many) ways it's been described.
"Delight your friends (or lose them rapidly) with this fabulous new knowledge presented with deftness and wit."
---Lynn Truss, author of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" and "Talk to the Hand"
"Master etymologist Charles Hodgson offers a passionate lesson...illuminates how just about every part of the amazing human chassis got its name."
---Richard Lederer, author of "Word Wizard"
"A near-perfect body of work that will not only entertain your brain but tickle your funny bone, too."
---Erin McKean, editor in chief, "The New Oxford American Dictionary" (2nd ed.)
"More than a list of anatomical words and their meanings, Hodgson's book fleshes out the meaning behind the words. This is a blood-and-guts encyclopedia, not some bone-dry dictionary.... Even misologists (haters of knowledge) will find pleasure in "Carnal Knowledge,""
---Robert Hartwell Fiske, author of "The Dictionary of Disagreeable English, Deluxe Edition"
"And you thought you knew your own body! A captivating trove of facts and history that will amuse and fascinate."
--- Jane Farrow, "Wanted Words," CBC Radio
CHARLES HODGSON is an engineer by training and a logophile (wordlover) by habit. He produces a daily blog and podcast for word lovers at www.podictionary.com.

Spiritual Revelations from Beyond the Veil: What Humanity Can Learn from the Near Death Experience decouples spirituality from a religious context and perspective. It examines the intriguing accounts of people who have undergone a near-death experience (NDE) and what was revealed to them while outside their physical bodies. What those people vividly described went well beyond what can be found in religious scripture. The NDE accounts contain descriptions of Heaven and the higher spiritual realms, what interconnectedness/oneness means, the eternal nature and liberation of the soul consciousness, the gift of free will and its purpose, the nature of soul agreements, the universal laws of attraction, reincarnation, and cause and effect (karma), the nature of positive and negative energy, the significance of the death of our physical body as well as our spiritual rebirth and life review. The study and collation of more than 500 NDE accounts, and the identification of common observations and insights drawn therefrom, culminated in the writing of this book. Going beyond the current NDE literature, which mainly examines the historical, religious, philosophical, scientific and medical aspects of this phenomenon, Spiritual Revelations from Beyond the Veil concentrates on the important messages brought back from beyond the veil for humanity's knowledge and benefit. Some of the learnings, observations and insights from the Other Side presented in this book are truly remarkable, and in a few cases, they test the limits of human, Earthly comprehension.