The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
by E. B. White, William Strunk Jr.
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.13 You Save: $4.82 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.27 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
Book Review: No writer should be without this reference!
Summary: 4 Stars
This tiny volume offer more advice on how to become a better writer in less space than any other. While it is not a "fun" read, it is absolutely mandatory for anyone who wishes to communicate through written words. Will Strunk is concise, direct, and unflinching in his examination of many bad habits which writers may knowingly possess. There is an extensive (by this book's standards, at least) section about words that are frequently used incorrectly, as well as rules regarding composition, form, and style. He instructs us with examples of correct and incorrect word, punctuation, and grammar use, and briefly explains each example. One possible complaint is that perhaps at times, he is too brief; this is not a book for someone who doesn't understand the basic parts of speech. If you loathe the idea of relearning those little buggers, may I suggest _The Deluxe Transitive Vampire_, which is a bit more engaging than the standard basic grammar book.
Whenever a writer is unsure of what is the correct way to express him- or herself, that person should reach for this book. Heck, reading it over in spare moments to refresh one's memory of the rules. _Elements of Style_ will make a better writer of anyone who pays attention to it. Keep it by your writing space, keep it in mind.
Book Review: Timeless - Clear and Direct
Summary: 5 Stars
Roughly 80 years ago, William Strunk wrote a small textbook for students in his English Composition class. He wrote it with the intention of creation a short and accessible reference for his students, one of whom - E. B. White, author of the children's classic "Charlotte's Web" - would revise it almost thirty years later for publication to the general college market.
Since its inception, "The Elements of Style" has been the definitive text on clear written communication. It contains explicit guidelines that can easily be followed by anyone, and lays down the law in the form of 22 Elementary Rules of Usage and Elementary Principles of Composition (my favorite of which, "Omit needless words," I couldn't resist quoting in my own book).
Perhaps most importantly, from the perspective of the aspiring writer (who generally has neither an abundance of time nor money), the book is short (can be leisurely read in a couple of hours) and inexpensive (affordable for even the starving student).
This book is highly, highly recommended for anyone who considers taking pen to paper.
Danny Iny
Author of "Ordinary Miracles - Harness the power of writing and get your point across!" (ISBN 1-4116-7252-6)
Book Review: Don't Leave Home Without It
Summary: 5 Stars
My late father was a writer-journalist, and I wanted desperately to follow in his footsteps. He bought me "The Elements of Style," and told me that, along with a typewriter (this was the Dark Ages), it was all I would ever need.He couldn't have known about the typewriter, but he was completely right about Strunk & White's timeless classic. As a professional editor of long standing, it is one of my jobs to hire and train beginning writers and editors. It never ceases to appall me that bright young kids right out of some of the finest colleges have no sense of the written word--no sense of the most elemental grammar (one young hiree told me that my insistence on commas to set off dependent clauses was hopelessly old-fashioned; "commas are out of style and are no longer used," he said).
I recommend "The Elements of Style" to these budding editors, and it never fails to help them. I also am not above dipping into it myself--OFTEN. It is probably the simplest, most elegant book on grammar and usage ever written, and it is as important today as it ever was, probably more so. I consider it a tool of the trade, and recommend it to anybody who uses language on a daily basis. And that's just about everybody!
Book Review: Still the Best
Summary: 5 Stars
Twenty-one years ago, a professor in one of my English Lit. classes brought out a book that was NOT one of those texts that you thought you were going to have to take along into the next life in order to finish it. The book was quite the opposite. It was a small 78 page publication that was no more intimidating than a comic book. I was a student that needed help in my punctuation, word usage, and style. I hoped, as did all the students, that the day would come when we would be published. The professor said, "If you're ever going to make it in the writing field, this book will be your best guide. Stick to the principles mentioned in its pages and you will achieve your goals. That is, assuming you have any writing ability in you at all."
Currently, I am taking a refresher course through a correspondence school back East. Guess what book is part of their curriculum? You're right, it's The Elements of Style. This time I have given the book a strict credence, and in the next few months I will have my first publishing credit.
I believe, The Elements of Style, is still the best book on correct writing techniques there is on the market. It was so tweny-one years ago and it will be so twenty-one years from now.
M.D. Cummings
Book Review: Still the Best
Summary: 5 Stars
Twenty-one years ago, a professor in one of my English Lit. classes brought out a book that was NOT one of those texts that you thought you were going to have to take along into the next life in order to finish it. The book was quite the opposite. It was a small 78 page publication that was no more intimidating than a comic book. I was a student that needed help in my punctuation, word usage, and style. I hoped, as did all the students, that the day would come when we would be published. The professor said, "If you're ever going to make it in the writing field, this book will be your best guide. Stick to the principles mentioned in its pages and you will achieve your goals. That is, assuming you have any writing ability in you at all."
Currently, I am taking a refresher course through a correspondence school back East. Guess what book is part of their curriculum? You're right, it's The Elements of Style. This time I have given the book a strict credence, and in the next few months I will have my first publishing credit.
I believe, The Elements of Style, is still the best book on correct writing techniques there is on the market. It was so tweny-one years ago and it will be so twenty-one years from now.
M.D. Cummings