The Bookshelf Conversation, Encore Edition: Paul Dickson

When last we spoke with Paul Dickson, it was about his excellent biography, Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son. This time it’s not about a new book, per se, but an old one that got a second life.

Dickson, who recently turned 80, has re-released The Hidden Language of Baseball: How Signs and Sign-Stealing Have Influenced the Course of Our National Pastime, which first came out in 2003. It’s amazing how much technology has played a role in his hidden language premise. Sign-stealing, as well as corporate espionage, take on a whole new meaning thanks to phone and computer hacking.

Language has always been a major part of Dickson’s oeuvre; here are just a few of his titles dealing with the overall subject:

Words (1982)
Slang! The Topic-by-Topic Dictionary of Contemporary American Lingoes (now in its third edition)
Dickson’s Word Treasury (1992)
The Congress Dictionary: The Ways and Meanings of Capitol Hill (with Paul Clancy, 1993)
Drunk: The Definitive Drinkers Dictionary (2009)

And, of course, he’s written some great, fun books on baseball, including the aforementioned Durocher bio, as well as