The Elements of Style (with Index) [Paperback]

Jr. William Strunk (Author), E. B. White (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0024182001 | ISBN-13: 978-0024182005 | Publication Date: January 1979 | Edition: 3rd edition

According to the St. Louis Dispatch, this "excellent book, which should go off to college with every freshman, is recognized as the best book of its kind we have".
It should be the ". . . daily companion of anyone who writes for a living and, for that matter, anyone who writes at all" (Greensboro Daily New).
"No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent little volume" (The Boston Globe).

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Composition teachers throughout the English-speaking world have been pushing this book on their students since it was first published in 1957. Co-author White later revised it, and it remains the most compact and lucid handbook we have for matters of basic principles of composition, grammar, word usage and misusage, and writing style.

Review

Buy it, study it, enjoy it. It's as timeless as a book can be in our age of volubility. -- The New York Times

The work remains a nonpareil: direct, correct, and delightful. -- The New Yorker --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: MacMillan Publishing Co.; 3rd edition edition (January 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0024182001
• ISBN-13: 978-0024182005
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable for anyone who wants to write., September 24, 1998

By 

R. B. Bernstein "R. B. Bernstein, Adjunct Pro... (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Elements of Style, Third Edition (Paperback)

I bought my first copy of THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE nearly thirty years ago, when I was 13 years old. It cost me one dime, in a thrift shop. That is still the best dime I've ever spent.

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE is indispensable for anyone who wants to write. It distills the essence of writing clear, direct, logical prose. I read it four times a year; in addition, I read it again whenever I am about to begin a large writing project. This book has shaped every word I've ever written, and it has taught me more than I can say about life. That may sound weird or idiosyncratic, but it's not -- for the principles that guide the writing of clear, direct, logical English prose are the same principles that guide a life of integrity and commitment. Writing honestly and clearly is the surest path to living honestly and clearly.

Buy it, read it, reread it, live by it. You won't be sorry.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A short book every writer should read once a year., December 16, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Elements of Style, Third Edition (Paperback)

Many books about writing are huge, but "The Elements of Style," the best of them, is extremely short: 92 pages, including index. Read them all. Briefly and vigorously, Strunk and White will tell you, for example, when to use (and not to use) commas, which words to avoid, how to divide paragraphs, and generally how to pare your writing down to essentials. Many professional writers advise reading Strunk and White cover-to-cover once a year. If you do any regular writing, of letters or anything else, then follow that advice.

73 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Anh..., August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Elements of Style, Third Edition (Hardcover)

OK. So this is one of the definitive reference books on style in written English. Just don't confuse style with grammar--if you want to understand grammar per se, this isn't the book for you. (Steven Pinker's "The Language Instinct" is what you want--quite a bit wittier than Strunk & White, too.) "The Chicago Manual of Style" or "Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age" are both for sale at Amazon, too, and I think they're ultimately better references. But if you want to write well, well, buy Strunk & White, and abide by their oft-archaic but always lucid guidelines. Just, please, don't stop with them. The most-acclaimed writers in the English language conform not closely to Strunk & White's principles (cf. Shakespeare, Jefferson, Longfellow, Hemmingway, Pynchon, Morrison... whatever your taste may be), so be mindful that this book is not alone the key to becoming a great writer.