Fowler's Modern English Usage
by R. W. Burchfield
List Price:
Our Price: $21.77
You Save: $16.18 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $17.91 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: R. W. BurchfieldEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2004-12-30
ISBN: 0198610211
Number of pages: 896
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of Fowler's Modern English Usage
Book Review: What is it in itself?
Summary: 4 Stars
That's what Thomas Aquinas suggested we consider when assessing anything - What is it in itself?
This is not Fowler's (the second edition), even though the cover indicates that the publisher would be happy for you to believe it is. The introduction makes it plain that this a wholly different kettle of fish to the beloved Fowler's. It is less prescriptive, as other reviewers have noted. It is drier, there is less wit, less opinion, and perhaps less wisdom. I find it less well organised than Fowler's.
But it is very good at what it is trying to do: offer a description of modern English usage, including English used in the Americas and other far-flung locations. If you are a casual reader I would probably still recommend Fowler's first, just because it's generally the more enjoyable read. Also, you can pick it up for about 50 cents. If you are a language maven or work with words I can't imagine you'd want to be without this, although I'd expect you to also have Fowler's on your shelf.
Fowler's tells you what to do, although of course you can disagree, and in many cases the passage of time means you must if you want to be understood. This edition just lays out the land and lets the reader decide. Either way it's still your decision, but responding to Fowler's prescription is more fun than just choosing between dry options. I prefer the more prescriptive approach of Fowler's, so like others I want that approach with this currency (or might that be currentness, I'll have to check...), but in itself - this is very good at what it intends to be.
Summary of Fowler's Modern English Usage
For generations, lovers of the English language have turned to trusty copies of Fowler's to settle nagging grammatical questions, or, for true hard-core language junkies, for the sheer fun of reading H. W. Fowler's classic outrage contained in entries on "Hackneyed Phrases" or "Pedantic-Humour Words."The New Fowler's Modern English Usage, the first revision in more than 30 years, has not arrived without controversy. Some language (and Fowler) purists complain that the book is too liberal at times, noting that usage is common as opposed to correct. Those points are debatable, and, indeed, they're what makes the book's nearly 900 pages so interesting to peruse. The currency of the new Fowler's extends to, in the entry on "Vogue Words," such novelties as "couch potato," "flavour of the month," "on a roll," and the notorious "parameter."
Fowler's Modern English Usage is the world-famous guide to English usage, loved and used by writers of all kinds. In keeping with its long tradition, Fowler's gives comprehensive and practical advice on grammar, syntax, style, and choice of words. It gives a clear and authoritative picture of the English we use, and elucidates many scores of usage questions such as the split infinitive and the intricacies of political correctness. It gives in-depth coverage of both British and American English with reference to the English of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. The volume includes wide-ranging examples of usage from a broad selection of newspapers, journals, and books from across the globe, and features illustrative quotations from authors such as Agatha Christie, Chinua Achebe, Iris Murdoch, Harold Pinter, and Noel Coward.
Based on the evidence and research of the Oxford Dictionaries Program, this is the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to usage available. The third edition of 1996 provided a complete revision and an expansion of the original text, bringing the book fully up to date on all matters of grammar, usage, syntax, and style. This is a reissue of the revised third edition of 1998, which includes a new Supplement and revised entries. Replaces isbn 0198602634.
General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Words. Words. Words.
Painless Grammar (Painless Series)by Rebecca Elliott Ph.D.
Barron's Educational Series; Published: 2006-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (Oxford Language Classics Series)by Henry Fowler
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-04-03; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Fowler's Modern English Usageby R. W. Burchfield
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2004-12-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.59
Price in other shops:
The Diaries of Kenneth Tynanby Kenneth Tynan
Bloomsbury USA; Published: 2002-10-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $75.75
Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories (New Edition)by John Griswold
AuthorHouse; Published: 2006-06-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.76
Price in other shops:
William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White's "The Elements of Style": A Study Guide from Gale's "Nonfiction Classics for Students" (Volume 05, Chapter 5)The Gale Group; Published: 2003-06-09; Digital; Book
Best price: $5.95
The Elements of Styleby Strunk & White
MacMillan; Published: 1979; Paperback; Book
the elements of Styleby William and White, E. B. Strunk
MacMillan; Published: 1959; Paperback; Book
The Elements of Style: The Original Editionby William Strunk
Dover Publications; Published: 2006-05-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.63
Price in other shops:
Adios, Strunk and White: A Handbook for the New Academic Essay, Third Editionby Gary Hoffman, Glynis Hoffman
Verve Press; Published: 2003-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.33
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writingby Claire Kehrwald Cook
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 1985-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.42
Price in other shops:
A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (Oxford Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage)by Bryan A. Garner
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2001-05-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.25
Price in other shops:
Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage (Oxford Paperback Reference)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2008-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.21
Price in other shops:
Roget's International Thesaurus, 6th Editionby Barbara Ann Kipfer
Collins; Published: 2002-07-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops:
The Chicago Manual of StyleUniversity Of Chicago Press; Published: 2003-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $34.65
Price in other shops:
A Preface to Moralsby Walter Lippmann
Transaction Publishers; Published: 1982-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.45
Price in other shops:
Garner's Modern American Usageby Bryan A. Garner
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-10-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.32
Price in other shops:
The Careful Writerby Theodore M. Bernstein
Free Press; Published: 1995-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.15
Price in other shops:
The Elements of Style (Coyote Canyon Press Classics)by William Strunk
Coyote Canyon Press; Published: 2007-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.32
Price in other shops:
The Modern Researcherby Jacques Barzun, Henry F. Graff
Wadsworth Publishing; Published: 2003-10-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $55.00
Price in other shops: