The Oxford Book of Oxford

Open this book at random and you're pretty sure to hit on something witty or whimsical or even laugh-out-loud funny; crammed with great stories about titans such as Shelley, Wilde, Newman, C.S. Lewis, etc., as well as little-known, highly eccentric Oxford dons. Beautiful first-hand descriptions of the city itself in its many Arcadian manifestations, plus behind-the-scenes looks at a great, entrenched university adapting itself to an ever-changing world.

I'll be attending Oxford next year, and one of my professors recommended this book to me. It explains important (as well as unimportant yet interesting) developments in the campus, and it does so through primary documents such as speeches, letters, diaries, & c. The editor, Jan Morris, delivers excellent and brief introductions to each passage. This is an excellent book if you are doing research on any of the minor details of the campus and need primary research. It is not, however, the light summer reading my professor had me think it was. Instead of the beach, find some time to curl up with this text in a library, public or at home.

Jan Morris captures the history of Oxford with many delightful stories and quotes. The book is great because it takes you on a journey of Oxford through the ages. The dons, the students, formal hall, college rowing are all familiar to someone who have studied at Oxford. There are also things that current students may not be as familiar with such as the history of women in Oxford. This is a great read but I am disappointed that more recent stories are not collected from the newer colleges such as Lady Margaret Hall, St. Anthony's or Mansfield, etc. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable read.

This is an urbane, witty book, beautifully written and structured so that every facet of Oxford is covered in a very readable manner.Although I loved Oxford to begin with, this book enhanced my appreciation of the city and I feel that I know more about its history and its manners now than I ever did before.Jan Morris never resorts to sentimentality, but she shows her enjoyment of her research in many ways.I would recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in "The Oxford Story".

Oxford is one of the most intriguing, enchanting, mysterious, historical and beautiful cities in the world. It is the location of _Alice in Wonderland_, _The Wind in the Willows_, much of Waugh's _Brideshead Revisited_, and Dorothy Sayer's _Gaudy Night_. Jan Morris's book is a celebration of this city so witty, so well informed, and so gripping that you may find it to be the best "travel book" you have ever read. A must for anglophiles, lovers of cities, lovers of literature, architecture, and history, and those fascinated by university life. I myself have the same experience as Susan Hill, a reviewer in the (London) Times, who wrote, "I devoured, and now constantly dip with delight into _Oxford_."