Here's the thing about this book: it's a great concept, but the author does not deliver a great book.

First, the subtitle claims that the book will cover "literature's most intriguing dedications", but what it really covers are generic dedications from some of literature's greatest authors. But that's not really the story either because often the book containing the dedication isn't even mentioned, leaving us with simply a four or five page biography of the author and dedicatee.

Second, the author's writing style starts off mediocre and devolves over the course of the book. Every single chapter uses a sick amount of foreshadowing, which is a crutch used by hack writers (it is also a personal peeve of mine). Toward the end of the book the author basically gives up and has the junior high student down the block finish writing the damn thing.

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Have you ever wondered why authors dedicate their books to certain people or even pets? If so, this book answers many of those questions. It is a well researched and fun read into the history of many dedications by books most of us have either read, or at least have heard of. This is definitely a book of English teachers and those who simply love books! ( )

This is essentially a gossip collection of great authors. As long as that's all you're looking for, enjoy in the voyeuristic smuttiness of it all. But read this book with a very critical eye; of 50 entries, only 11 don't cite Wikipedia as a source (and Lewis Carroll's entry was ONLY credited to Wikipedia). That's fine for gossip, but I'd like something a little more solid for my information. ( )

Read. A fun book, insights into assorted authors. Amazing how many were drunks, or came from households full of problems.

The idea behind this book is a great one, and it is pretty well summed up in the title. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t live up to its promise. It is one of the most gracelessly-written books I’ve ever read. This book should have been an entertaining backstory banquet, but unfortunately it is more like an unappealing pile of remedial high school English papers. ( )