Customer Reviews

21st Century Grammar Handbook (21st Century Reference)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The 21st Century Grammar Handbook list subjects in alphabetical order which makes it a good reference tool when a person needs it the most - in the middle of writing. Also, the book covers everything; the number of topics discussed is extensive. The authors have shown themselves to be very knowledgeable in English grammar.

I didn't find this book to be what I was looking for. I wanted something easy to read for a quick brush-up on basic grammar and punctuation skills. Instead I found quite a few technical terms that I don't know off the top of my head. It made the contents confusing and ultimately I put the book down after a few minutes. Not enjoyable or easy to read ( they do exist!). It's not to say the writers aren't knowledgeable, they are, but too much so. Try something else if you're looking to brush up on your skills.

I found that book very useful. As a non-native english speaker, it helps me a lot when I have to write letters or even memos in my company. The English Grammar is a very extensive issue, so it is not easy to have a quick reference book. This is the one. I recommend even for native speaker. It has a key word index that helps a lot and includes not only grammar, but also style. It is not a five star because I think it could have more examples.

The best use I ever put five dollars to was in buying this book. A very handy reference, and I enjoy idly flipping through it, allowing one topic to lead me to another. Refreshingly simple and complete. A great book to have if you're at all paranoid about whether you're whoing when you should be whoming.

The 21st Century Grammar book is, on the whole, quite a useful reference. It covers most subjects - if only briefly - in its few pages. It actually proved most useful when doing essays, because they require such formal grammar. However, its focus is overly American, and does not really account for cultural variations.

This book lacks any content. When it does say something, it is brief. Don't buy this book: invest in Elements of Style or the NYT Style Book. This one is skimpy and cursory.

This book may be a good, concise reference for a teacher. If you are trying to learn about grammar on your own, save your money: try ""Grammar Smart : A Guide to Perfect Usage (The Princeton Review)"" instead.

Could serve as a prank gift and that's all. Between a tirade against spell checkers, a pep talk on cojugation but with zero actual information some petty politicking on "sexist language" (even politicians don't distort this much anymore :-) and a sprinkle of bitching against "informal" style defined as if the year was 1893 and not 1993, this book probably qualifies as the most useless ink a paper could bear.

Actually, the 50-75 yr old "Fowler's Modern English Usage" looks and reads as infinitely more 21st century then this little rambling collection printed on the newspaper-like paper. This book is not a reference, not even a commentary, it's simply a useless nothing.