The author is neither mad nor ashamed. This reference work is
filled with expressions that perplex ESL students, yet do not
often appear in dictionaries of slang or idiomatic English.
This is a reference work, not a teaching textbook. I think the first edition appeared in 1991, and the title has been in demand in the ESL market since it first appeared. Native speakers may not find the entries remarkable, but learners of English do. Check the sample pages. It may serve your needs.
Cheers, R. Spears, the author.

I found this book in a public library and renew it several times since it is very helpful to me. It not only provides us everyday phrases and sentences that Americans use over and over in their greeting, goodbyes and everyday small talk, but also tell me an important method to study and us English: The effective use of language is not in being able to create and understand an infinite number of sentences, but to use the right sentence the right way in a given context. About the shortcomes, the phrases are in an alphabeta order, not easy to memorize.

Mr. Spears should be ashamed of himself. 80% of the entries are not common: you will never hear them in a theater (no matter what time period the movie is) nor on the radio or TV. I think Mr. Spears must be mad.

About myself. I scored a 680 out of 800 (92%) on the verbal portion of the GRE.

Here's the problem: Context isn't considered in the book's FORMAT; the book gives phrases and idioms in alphabetical order. There are examples of usage given for each entry, but the alphabetical listing is not helpful for students learning new phrases, that is, there is no grouping in context. For example, if you want to learn a set of common phrases used when telephoning, or when you perhaps want to find out how to interrupt someone politely or otherwise, you're out of luck with this book. No way to go to a section on phoning, or conversational guidelines. To use this book, you need to have heard a phrase, memorized it, and want to look it up. It can be a good reference, probably useful for students doing translations.

In short, it's a shelf book, not a book geared for teachers to teach with or students to teach themselves from.

greate book..

I recommend it for all american english learner...