Customer Reviews

The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition

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The new version is certainly worth the purchase price! They've added an entire new section on electronic publishing, updated capitalization rules (web [lowercase] is now acceptable), made things more consistent, and speaking of consistency, added a new section on parallel structure. :)

The updated rules for numbers now allow me to toss the ancient GPO Style Manual kept handy for that (I work in science and technology), not to mention the new usage section covering most of the troublesome words means I'll be reaching for my American Heritage dictionary less frequently.

Well done Chicago! Thank you!

As a book editor (also called a book doctor), I must keep up with the latest style issues for books, and CMOS is the bible of book style. It may not be easy to find entries in the printed version, but I use the CMOS Web site to search the subject I need. It tells me the sections to examine in the book, which simplifies and speeds up the process. I also have an "Ask the Book Doctor" column that appears in many newsletters and Web sites for writers, and I welcome readers of the column to send me questions. I often turn to the Chicago Manual of Style to find the absolute and final answers to those questions. It's especially essential for resolving differences of opinions among members of critique circles and writers groups.The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition

This latest edition of the "Chicago Manual of Style" is about 75 pages longer than the previous one and is structured a little differently, so navigating it is taking some getting used to. The University of Chicago Press does have a summary of changes between the 15th and 16th editions, so that helps longtime users of the 15th edition.

This edition reflects trends in publishing: sections on website publishing and electronic publishing have been expanded, while the focus on proofs, bluelines, and F&Gs has been reduced.

Illustrations and tables are combined into a single chapter near the front of the book in the 16th edition. Again, there is increased attention to scans and various electronic formats for images, as well as suggestions for web-based publication of images and tables.

Chapters 5 through 9 are still largely intact, although the useful hyphenation guide that comprises section 7.90 in the 15th edition has been changed to a pretty table, section 7.85, in the 16th edition. The table is a return to the table 6.1 format in the old 14th edition and makes for quicker reference once you get used to it.

The documentation section, chapters 14 and 15, is not substantively different except for more (helpful) rules about citing electronic books and journals, websites and blogs, databases, and multimedia materials.

Perhaps the most useful section is Appendix A, "Production and Digital Technology," which lays out general principles and a section titled "The Electronic Workflow."

This 16th edition is an improvement over the previous edition in its appearance as well as its utility. It's well worth the investment for anyone who writes, edits, or designs technical and scholarly works.

Kudos to the advisory board and Russell David Harper, the principal reviser, for going all the way back to the 14th edition to improve certain aspects of this edition.

I find this edition much easier to use and more complete than the 15th edition. I was able to toss my "addendum" reference material that I kept with my 15th edition because each of those items are clearly covered in this version. I highly recommended this book for everyone.

I do freelance work as an editor and proofreader. I also tutor students in writing and they need to follow specific style guidelines. I find the Chicago Manual of Style to be a very helpful, detailed guide. Most publishing companies use CM as their style guide, so I recommend it to freelancers. Even though I've tried the online subscription, I find a printed version easier to navigate.

This is an invaluable resource if you are going to publish a book or become an editor of those who do. Updated with all the most recent facts and changes the 16th edition of the Chicago Manual Style is the publishing standard. As I am currently completing my second non-fiction work I found that this edition of the style manual has all the details on how to cite online sources, e-books, Wiki pages and so on, and includes many examples and explanations to help you edit your book into the most professional writing imaginable. I even find myself reading through it just for all the interesting information I didn't know! (Bookworm alert! Seriously though--the geek in me thinks it's totally fun to read this technical manual on writing.) If you're a writer and this book isn't on your bookshelf then you're not a real writer--get serious and get this book!

This is an indispensable reference to all academic writers. Without it, I would be be most definitely lost. The updates in the 16th edition are most helpful as we live in a world of ever-changing media. The 15th edition did not tell me how to document material from kindle edition books.

Although a professional writer, I still get stuck on questions of basic usage. The Chicago Manual of Style remains the final word on what is correct. I'm glad to have the updated edition since some rules may change over time.

For those of us wannabe authors who cannot remember whether the period goes before or after the quotation marks, or whether to capitalize "A.M." and "P.M.", the Chicago Manual of Style is an indispensible tool. You can find just about anything in the index and, while the written explanations are not always crystal-clear, for most things they give a few on-point examples, so you can figure it out yourself. Glad I invested in this.

Admittedly, there is nothing exciting about reading an editing manual. If you need to know the rules there is no better go to source though. I wish I would have had this in college because it would have saved me a lot of frustration!