“This is surely the first time anyone has thought of reprinting a dictionary for the primary purpose of entertaining its readers; and normally to do so would be absurd.  But Samuel Johnson was a man of such distinctive personality that even in defining words he makes it felt.  At the same time, he was a man of high standards in evaluating the writing of others; consequently, in choosing examples to illustrate his definitions he offers a sort of handbook of variously-colored selections from the masters of English literature between Chaucer and his own age.  The volume sparkles with wit, humor, and bits of superb serious prose or verse.  Thus the editors have had no difficulty in showing that the dictionary, at the ripe age of 200, is ‘a landmark of literature and learning.’  I should say at once, too, that their sampling achieves their purpose of giving the modern reader ‘some sense of the unique quality’ of the landmark... 

“Professor McAdam, for the record, is one of today’s leading specialists in the study of Johnson.  His associate, George Milne, is an amateur in the old sense of the word: a man who devotes himself to a branch of art for the love of it.  Between them they have done an excellent piece of work.  The introduction is a model of concision and clean-limbed writing.  It provides relevant background and suggests the enthusiasm which underlies their effort without indulging in purple prose.  The rare footnotes are even more terse.  The contents show much of the wide range of Johnson’s character: his straightforward, sometimes hardheaded directness; his sense of humor; his appreciation of literature; his coolly logical mind; his honesty...”
--F. G. Schoff, in Discourse: A Review of the Liberal Arts