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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
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.
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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.
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73 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Anh..., August 11, 1999
By A Customer
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.
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