Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors (Hardcover)

by Bill Bryson (Author)
Key Phrases: note unusual spelling, baseball stadium home, preferred spelling, World War, United States, South African (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words:

“One of the best guides to usage there is. I cannot imagine an English-speaking person [who] would not rejoice in [it].” —Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe

“A worthwhile addition to any writer’s or editor’s reference library.” —Los Angeles Times

“[Bryson is] a world-class grammar maven.”
—Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times

“A usage book with a nice sense of differentiation.”
—William Safire, New York Times Magazine

“Bryson’s erudition is evident and refreshing…a straightforward, concise, utilitarian guide.”—Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
Praise for Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words:

“One of the best guides to usage there is. I cannot imagine an English-speaking person [who] would not rejoice in [it].” —Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe

“A worthwhile addition to any writer’s or editor’s reference library.” —Los Angeles Times

“[Bryson is] a world-class grammar maven.”
—Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times

“A usage book with a nice sense of differentiation.”
—William Safire, New York Times Magazine

“Bryson’s erudition is evident and refreshing…a straightforward, concise, utilitarian guide.”—Publishers Weekly


See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (May 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767922697
• ISBN-13: 978-0767922692
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,463 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Title should be "... for NEWS Writers and Editors", May 23, 2008

By	Roy Speed (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With a different title I would have given this book five stars, and I would highly recommend it for newsrooms.

But the majority of the world's writers and editors do not work in newsrooms. They do not write news articles. They write web pages or annual reports for corporations or books on software or educational materials or white papers on technical topics or corporate policy statements or publicity pieces -- or a thousand other kinds of writing, often with audiences just as large as a newspaper's circulation.

The problem with this book, in other words, is not the quality of its entries, but their selection. The book has lots of help for accurate spelling of proper names, but surprisingly little help with topics that today are either ubiquitous or ubiquitous for large swaths of society.

Under "E," for example, you will find an entry for "Elliot, Denholm" with the correct spelling of that actor's name. But you won't find an entry on "email" discussing whether the preferred spelling is hyphenated ("e-mail"). Nor will you find any guidance on "e-commerce" (or eCommerce or E-commerce or any of a number of other variants). You will (thank goodness?) find the correct spelling of "Edgware Road," the London street and Underground station.

Under "H" you will find the correct spellings of Harper's Bazaar, Harpers Ferry, Harper's Magazine and Hartsfield-Jackson (note the hyphen!) Atlanta International Airport. What you won't find is any discussion of the compound "health care" and whether it should ever be written as a solid (as in "universal healthcare").

Also under "H" you will find the correct spellings of Hindu Kush (the Afghan mountain range), Hippocrates (ancient Greek physician), and Al Hirschfield (the American caricaturist). But you won't find a reminder that the correct acronym for the landmark 1996 legislation (provisions of which affect every U.S. hospital, medical facility, health plan, and pharmaceutical company) is HIPAA, not HIPPA (which is how it's pronounced), because the full name of that legislation is the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act."

Bottom line: This is not a bad book; it's just a book primarily for newspeople. It should have been promoted as such.

The two stars (rather than none) is for the fact that there are lots of entries that are actually useful (equable vs. equitable; precipitant, precipitate, and precipitous; stanch vs. staunch), and for the most part they are very clearly written. And when an entry calls for advice -- see, for example, the entry on "hopefully" -- Bryson's taste and judgment are sound.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's Read first, Review Next, May 20, 2008

By	Brandon Gaines "Big Slide" (Lubbock, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You'll find plenty of factoids (actually, according to this book, a factoid is an untrue fact) about the words we use in Bill Bryson's latest word collection.

This isn't a reference book per se, rather it's designed to be a humorous look at words, and to help certain words stand out in your mind as you go about your writing. This is more of a pre-emptive read: it lets common pitfalls find a perch in your brain BEFORE you need to look them up. There are times when the internet isn't available - like in the middle of a conversation. Remember, it's not just a book of words, but an anecdotal book of words, including spellings, pronunciations, meanings, and etymologies. It'll suprise you to learn what you thought you knew about the words you use.

Don't buy this if you're looking for a comprehensive "Most Commonly Misspelled Words" book. Bryson himself calls this his "personal collection": a potpouri of commonly misspelled words and some interesting facts to go with them. These words reflect Bryson's personality, and for the fans, that's not such a bad thing.

I love this book! I personally just like to go through every once in awhile, sip a few words, mull them over, and if I remember them later on then so much the better. A. Some say that the internet makes books like this obsolete. I'm inclined to disagree. Like any reference book, you can look up what you are intending to look up, or - and here's the beauty of Brysons' book- you can read it for pleasure and find all sorts of creative entries you would never think to look up in the first place.

If you liked Dictionary of Troublesome Words, or you're one who likes interesting facts about the words we do use, I'd recommend this book.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NEAT LITTLE BOOK IF YOU DON'T EXPECT WONDERS, August 6, 2008

By	D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is one of those little works that may or may not appeal to the average reader, and may or may not live up to the expectations of its title. I have a very large shelf of reference books, dictionaries, and the like setting above my desk. I also have my computer in front of me (obviously, as I am using it now). A small 300 plus page book is in no way going to replace these books or my temperamental machine, or even come close. When I purchase this little volume, I did not have the unrealistic expectations that in was the beginning and end of all reference books. Rather, I enjoy Bryson's writing. I enjoy trivia. I enjoy having little books around that I can pick up, read a few lines and enjoy them and learn something to boot. This work fulfilled my personal needs quite well. I seldom take anything Bryson writes all that serious, but I personally think he is funny and I do enjoy his quirky, curious mind.

This, according to the author's statement is a persona list of words, names, places, etc. that he has encountered over the years. It addresses the usage of these words; it gives a brief one line description of places, people and things. It also, as the author points out, addresses words that are sort of at the edge of your mind, i.e. you know of them, sort of, you know of their usage, sort of, but you are not quite sure. As an example, and this pertains to just me, Bryson tells us the difference between "douse" and "dowse." Now I know these two words, but to be frank, was not real sure of the difference when I really stopped to think of it. This book quickly explains it in just twelve words. Neat! I have always, for some reason had problems with the usage of "its" verses "it's." (I know, I am an illiterate clod, no use in pointing it out). Bryson explains their usage in a quick, pain free, three lines. This is sure nicer than digging through The Little, Brown Handbook, and trying to figure out what in the world they are talking about.

If you spend your hard earned money on a short work such as this and expect to receive an all inclusive reference book, then you probably deserve to be parted from your cash. If you buy this simply for the entertainment value, then you will probably get your monies worth.