How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One [Hardcover]

Stanley Fish (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 25, 2011 | ISBN-10: 0061840548 | ISBN-13: 978-0061840548

“Like a long periodic sentence, this book rumbles along, gathers steam, shifts gears, and packs a wallop.”
 —Roy Blount Jr.
 
“Language lovers will flock to this homage to great writing.”
—Booklist

Outspoken New York Times columnist Stanley Fish offers an entertaining, erudite analysis of language and rhetoric in this delightful celebration of the written word. Drawing on a wide range of  great writers, from Philip Roth to Antonin Scalia to Jane Austen and beyond, Fish’s How to Write a Sentence is much more than a writing manual—it is a penetrating exploration into the art and craft of sentences.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A whole book on the lowly sentence? Stanley Fish, America's English Professor, confides that he belongs "to the tribe of sentence watchers," and shares his passion and learning through an array of examples from sentence-making masters, among them Milton, James, Dr. King, Sterne, Swift, Salinger, Elmore Leonard, Conrad, and Gertrude Stein. For Fish, language is logic. He stresses how the sentence, regardless of length-whether declarative or embroidered with qualifiers-is a structure of logical relationships. He discusses the all-important opening sentence and closing sentence, especially as the latter can be isolated from its dramatic context to convey full rhetorical effect. The reader is advised to begin with form; with practice, writers can develop three basics of style (subordinating, additive, satiric) that will allow them to make an emotional impact with their words. In the end, the craft of sentence writing is elevated to the very center of our inner lives. Fish plays the opinion card well, though a piling on of example after example, particularly of long sentences drawn from literature or theology, might leave more experienced sentence-makers to cry, "Enough already!"
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From Booklist

New York Times columnist and college professor Fish appreciates fine sentences the way some people appreciate fine wine. In 10 short chapters, Fish takes readers through a cogent analysis of how to craft a sentence. He talks about form, content, and style, always taking care to illustrate his points with an ample selection of judicously chosen quotations from virtuoso writers, from Milton and Shakepeare to Anton Scalia and Elmore Leonard. He then proceeds to drill down into the quotations, zeroing in on the tense, parts of speech, or precise phrasing that make the sentences sing. He also discusses famous first and last lines, always keeping in the forefront the extraordinary power of language to shape reality. And, befitting his subject matter, he does all this in the most luminous prose. He fluidly conveys the nitty-gritty details of crafting sentences, but, even more impressive, he communicates and instills in readers a deep appreciation for beautiful sentences that “do things the language you use every day would not have seemed capable of doing.” Language lovers will flock to this homage to great writing. --Joanne Wilkinson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harper (January 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061840548
• ISBN-13: 978-0061840548
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stanley Fish is the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and a professor of law at Florida International University. He has previously taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He has received many honors and awards, including being named the Chicagoan of the Year for Culture. He is the author of twelve books and is now a weekly columnist for the New York Times. He resides in Andes, New York; New York City; and Delray Beach, Florida; with his wife, Jane Tompkins.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

215 of 221 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Do You Like Sentences?" January 25, 2011

By AdamSmythe

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Author Annie Dillard ("The Writing Life," 1989) was asked by a student, "Do you think I could be a writer?" Dillard's response: "Do you like sentences?" According to Stanley Fish, author of "How to Write a Sentence," it's as important for writers to genuinely like sentences as it is for great painters to like paint. For those who enjoy an effective sentence and all that it involves, this short (160 page) book is insightful, interesting and entertaining. For those who consider reading or writing a chore, perhaps this book can help one's interest level and motivation regarding sentences, though the author's intended audience is clearly those with a genuine interest in writing.

Fish would seem to be well qualified to write, having taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. However, as any student who has suffered with a highly qualified--yet thoroughly boring--professor knows, a significant part of the education/communication process involves instilling motivation. That's where Fish shines. If it might seem that a whole book on sentences has to be boring, Stanley Fish quickly overcomes this perception. His book is divided into 10 chapters: (1) Why Sentences?; (2) Why You Won't Find the Answer in Strunk and White [Strunk and White authored the classic, "The Elements of Style"]; (3) It's Not the Thought That Counts [nothing like a little provocation to get us interested]; (4) What Is a Good Sentence?; (5) The Subordinating Style; (6) The Additive Style; (7) The Satiric Style: The Return of Content; (8) First Sentences; (9) Last Sentences; and (10) Sentences That Are About Themselves (Aren't They All?).

Author Fish includes many examples of powerful sentences from a very wide range of writers, such as Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Cicero, Lewis Carroll, Michel de Montaigne, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens and others. Here's one illustrative example from John Updike: Describing the home run Ted Williams hit at his last at-bat in Boston's Fenway Park on September 28, 1960, Updike wrote, "It was in the books while it was still in the sky." Think about that for a minute.

In conclusion, Stanley Fish is an enthusiastic writer, and he manages to convey and transmit his enthusiasm for writing clear, effective sentences in this highly readable book. If you are interested in writing (and reading), this book is worth your careful consideration.

UPDATE on January 29, 2011: I wrote the above from the viewpoint of the reader contemplating buying this book for his or her own use. As I think more about the book, however, there's another possibility worth exploring. Specifically, this book could make a fine graduation (or other) gift to a niece, nephew or friend's child. First, it's short and easy to read, which means it might actually get read. Second, good writing is important in any profession. Third, the book helps reinforce the point that if you want to get good at something, it pays to study experts in the field. Fourth, and perhaps most important, the book supports the point that success in writing--as in virtually all endeavors--comes from practice, practice, practice. That's a pretty useful message to send any student.

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to language by someone who obviously loves it January 27, 2011

By R Ruby

Format:Hardcover

I have long been a fan of Fish's work, both for a scholarly audience (Surprised by Sin) and a more general one (Save the World on Your Own Time). "How to Write a Sentence" really gets to the essence of what makes Fish one of the greatest living literary critics: his obvious love of language. In this deceptively simple how-to, his aesthetic appreciation of virtuosic writing, his ear for poetry, and his deep understanding of the logic and craft of sentence construction are all on display. "How to Write a Sentence" goes twelve rounds with "The Elements of Style" and remains standing. If I may venture a prediction, I'd say that a generation from now, Fish's book, and not Strunk and White's, will be considered the standard guide for those who want to know how to write a sentence and how to read one.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't love it March 3, 2011

By Wood Foster-Smith

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a lover of sentences, so I had high expectations for this book. I was disappointed to find that most of the book, especially in the latter half, consists of the author extolling sentences he likes in an overblown style that serves to obfuscate, rather than illuminate, the sentences he is trying to parse.

The first few chapters were instructive in becoming aware of different sentence styles, independent of content -- the subordinating vs. additive styles -- and in the recognition of sentences as "forms," of which there are a limited number, that can be applied with infinite variety to a writer's purpose by adding the right content. I got a lot out of these parts of the book. Once the author begins to add content to the mix though, he quickly falls in love with his own voice, to the exclusion of (it seemed to me) the voice of the writer whose sentence he is talking about, as well as to the exclusion of my interest.

The early parts of the book did get me interested in learning more, though, about different rhetorical styles and the history of rhetoric in general. So while I don't think this book is great in itself, I do think it's a good entry point to other topics related to writing and appreciation of its skilled practitioners.