Customer Reviews

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (9th Edition)

5 star:		(30)
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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are a student in high school or college looking for a complete reference guide, this book is not it. The basics are covered, but explanations are sometimes inaccurate, and it will not supply answers to problems with your research paper(at least, not the answers that will satisfy your teacher). It IS a good reference tool for those in the corporate community who need help once in a while to polish a report, proposal or important memo.

The book uses (sometimes misuses) technical terms that it never bothers to define. That's how carelessly it's been thrown together. The book states (ungrammatically), "Object pronouns are used everywhere else (direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition)." However, the book never defines "direct object," "indirect object," or "object of the preposition." For that matter, it does not even define "preposition." The book makes no mention of transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, appositives, complements, copulative verbs (linking verbs), modals, auxiliary verbs (helping verbs), agents, the subjunctive--the list goes on and on.

This book is also full of errors. Many of the "rules" are misleading or simply incorrect. Moreover, there are grammar and punctuation errors in the writing itself. In the section on finding subjects and verbs, we read, "Being able to identify the subject and verb correctly will also help you with commas and semicolons as you will see later." It is certainly odd that a sentence about proper punctuation should itself include a punctuation error; a mandatory comma has been omitted between "semicolons" and "as." We are told in "Rule 2", "A subject will come before a phrase beginning with 'of'." This is simply not a rule; subjects often follow "of". Consider this sentence: "Hoping to win the respect of her employer, Sandra learned to speak fluent English." The subject, Sandra, comes after a phrase beginning with "of" ("of her employer"), not before one. Someone who followed the rule in the book might falsely conclude that "respect" is the subject, as it comes before "of". We are also told, most unhelpfully, "To find the subject and verb, always find the verb first. [If the reader already knows how to find verbs, why would she be consulting this book?] Then ask who or what performed the verb." This sloppy wording is almost bound to cause confusion. Consider this sentence: "In spite of the bad instructions, the error was found by the student." The verb is "was found," and the student did the finding. It would be natural to suppose, then, that the student "performed the verb" and thus is the subject. The subject, however, is "the error," not "the student". All of these problems (and others I have not mentioned) are found on a mere two pages of text.

The book, sadly, is a bust.

Author Jane Straus takes the myth out of grammar and punctuation with this handy, practical, easy-to-use handbook fit for all ages and all levels of skill.

The book is divided into two parts and the well-organized, easy-to-navigate table of contents allow you to go exactly where you want to go. The first part covers grammar; the second part covers punctuation, capitalization, and writing numbers. A the end of each part there are exercises to test your knowledge and skills, and to ensure you've learned the topics discussed. All topics are illustrated with key examples for clear understanding.

Here's an overview of Part I: Finding Subjects and Verbs, Subject and Verb Agreement, Pronouns, Who and Whom, Whoever and Whomever, Who vs. Which vs. That, Adjectives and Adverbs, Problems with Prepositions, Effect vs. Affect, Lie vs. lay, and Effective Writing.

Overview of Part II: Spacing with Punctuation, Periods, Ellipsis Marks, Commas, Semicolons, Colons, Question Marks, Exclamation Points, Quotation Marks, Parentheses, Apostrophes, Contractions, Hyphens, and Dashes.

Jane Straus, seminar leader and lecturer, is a recipient of the Outstanding Young Woman of America award and has conducted workshops for thousands of people on the topic.

Whether you're a writer, editor, student, teacher, or simply someone who wishes to "tune-up" your grammar skills, this book will be an indispensable tool you'll want to keep in your reference shelf. Most importantly, this is a grammar and punctuation book you won't hate.

The book is written to comprehend easily, yet touches but the surface of English grammar, badly! Jane Straus is a personal coach, and has got nothing to do with the English language on a professional level, which is a real downer when opening the book. Probably the only reason for publishing it would be that she owns the publishing company.

Some of the rules she gives are downright nonsense, such as those for apostrophes for plurals of abbreviations. Moreover, the difference between lie and lay has nothing to do with grammar - even though it is discussed unter the item "grammar", and the same applies to the difference in meaning between effect and affect. Those are lexicographic and belong in a dictionary.
A plus in the book definitely is the number of examples per item, yet a major minus is the simplicity of the rules; they state the obvious and that's it!

For people who are learning English as a foreign language (having trouble with the grammar), this book might be valuable, but for those of you who are looking for a thorough review of English grammar and punctuation (with tricky cases), please buy another book.

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is "An Easy-to-use Reference Guide and Workbook" and lives up to its description. Attractively designed and well-written, the book is indeed a good attempt to demystify the intricacies of grammar and punctuation. What I received is the New, Expanded Eighth Edition and so the author would have incorporated several improvements based on the feed-back from users of the previous editions.

The book provides clear rules and examples for Subject and Verb Agreement, Pronouns, Adjectives and Adverbs, Problems with Prepositions, Lie vs. Lay, and Effective Writing in the grammar section.

The Punctuation Section covers Spacing, Periods, Ellipsis marks, Commas, Semicolons, Colons, Question Marks, Exclamation Marks, Quotation Marks, Parentheses, Apostrophes and Hyphens, etc.

The book has a number of exercises and quizzes to test one's knowledge. The layout is attractive. I have no doubt that the book will be useful to all users of English language.

This book serves a purpose that no other book, in my experience as a manager, does. Ms. Straus offers easy-to-understand rules, clear examples, and practice quizzes. She has structured the book and the Table of Contents in a way that makes any topic you're seeking clarification on easy to find. I've taken her seminar, so I know that she is an expert in this field, a highly sought-after trainer, and generous besides. She has offered the entire contents of this book on her website to let everyone know exactly what they will get when they purchase it. I have much more confidence in my writing skills because of this book and am very grateful for it and for Ms. Straus's efforts.

I couldn't disagree more with "a student's" review of this outstanding book. This book serves a purpose that no other book, in my experience as a manager, does. Ms. Straus offers easy-to-understand rules, clear examples, and practice quizzes. I've taken her seminar so I know that she is an expert in this field, a highly sought-after trainer, and generous besides. She has offered the entire contents of this book on her website free to help those who cannot afford to purchase the book as well as to let everyone know exactly what they will get when they do purchase it. I have much more confidence in my writing skills because of this book and am very grateful for it and for Ms. Straus's efforts.

I have been using the 2001 edition of The Blue Book Of Grammar And Punctuation for several years. The new 2004 edition is even better. It is user friendly. It presents the material in a clear, concise way. The instant feedback on comprehension is a valuable teaching tool, as are the pre and mastery tests.
As a college instructor, I find this book a welcome addition to my college texts. Carole Mark Gingiss

Wonderful book for anyone teaching grammar. Quizes and tests are in the book so that you can evaluate your students understanding of grammar. Homeschoolers, this is a great book for you.

I just finished my travel guidebook and having The Blue Book of Grammar as a reference guide was priceless. The website that goes with the book is great too. There I did interactive quizes and sharpend my grammar saw.

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