The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
by William Strunk Jr., E. B. White
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Book Summary Information
Author: E. B. White, William Strunk Jr.Foreword: Roger Angell
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-08-02
ISBN: 020530902X
Number of pages: 105
Publisher: Longman
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780205309023
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
Book Review: Surprisingly Funny
Summary: 5 Stars
This book, which, while not sacrosanct, surely deserves its reputation. I found it surprisingly funny. E.B. White in the Introduction tells us that his old professor William Strunk once seriously advocated introducing the word "studentry" in place of the phrase "student body," which he found horrid. Now studentry is worse, and we can all be glad it was never adopted. But Strunk, despite his observations on fiction writing in the last chapter (including, surprisingly, the old saw that any rule can be broken in capable hands), is primarily a teacher not a writer. The most famous single bit of advice he gives is "Omit needless words," which Stephen King recycles in his On Writing book. (Stephen King seems to recycle other things-I just noticed that Theodore Sturgeon, the real life model for Vonnegut's science fiction writer Kilgore Trout-made his name with a story called "It." Oh well-Shakespeare did it: talented artists borrow, great ones steal.) This, of course, is sound advice-although pretty much completely ignored by all politicians, scientists and philosophers. Hemingway took the advice and look what happened to him. I digress. One of the funny bits for me was Strunk's analysis of roadside signs and their effect on linguistic evolution. The correct adjective for being capable of catching fire is "inflammable," Strunk reminds us-but it had to be shortened (as did Throughway into Thruway) in order to fit on those sloshing trucks full of toxic liquids. It also, Strunk happily sneers, appears to illiterates to be negated by the prefix, which might make idiots to think something was fireproof rather than the opposite. (Something somewhat similar happened in one of Dr. Ruth's books, when the word "conception" and "contraception" somehow switched places; the book had to be "recalled.") Strunk is very good on giving us shortcuts to distinguish between "which" and "that," in analyzing and correcting common mistakes and showing how they both reflect, and perpetuate, a sloppiness of thinking. Some of his pet peeves, however, such as "enormous"-a word, he tells us, which should always contain a connotation of the hideous, and not be used simply to mean "very big"-have been superceded (as in fairness he suspected they might) by the continuing evolution (devolution?) of the language. Some people considered to be good writers flagrantly flout Strunk's elements (elements?) of style. Umberto Eco, for example, routinely interpolates foreign phrases (which for him would be non-Italian ones) into his prose. Stephen Jay Gould is guilty both of foreign phrase insertion and the putting of quotes-to distance himself from them-around idiomatic phrases (which he nonetheless apparently feels compelled to use). I recently heard on the radio an executive editor at Miriam-Webster say that, because of the internet and global communications, new words make it to the dictionary in twice the time they used to-in five years on average rather than ten. Other words, like "microrecorder" (used to read microfiche, a pre-computer technology) have been removed from the dictionary. I received a form letter from a well-respected Southern lawyer yesterday that would have struck out with Strunk because of its adverb "hopefully"-which is almost always means more than you want it to. Hopefully I will end this review. (Hoping referring to my mood, that I will, say, rise in the Amazon reviewer ranks? Or do I hope I will end the review?) Sloppy language is rampant: among the biggest blah-blah phrases are: "the fact that," "it is interesting to note," and "as evidenced by." Strunk busts pretentious writing wide open. And yet he is acutely aware of the limits of his analysis. This book, a labor of love by a lover of language, is great to read if you want to communicate (and think) more clearly.
Summary of The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
You know the authors' names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition. A new Foreword by Roger Angell reminds readers that the advice of Strunk & White is as valuable today as when it was first offered.This book's unique tone, wit and charm have conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. Use the fourth edition of "the little book" to make a big impact with writing.Words & Language Books
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