Less Than Words Can Say [Paperback]

Richard Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2004

It is possible, Sagan says, to damage the brain in precisely such a way that the victim will lose the ability to understand the passive or to devise prepositional phrases or something like that. No cases are cited, unfortunately--it would be fun to chat with some victim--but the whole idea is attractive, because if it were true it would explain many things.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419129724
• ISBN-13: 978-1419129728
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,494,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching by Doing, November 11, 2005

By 

Dr. Michael E. Bauman (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Less Than Words Can Say (Paperback)

According to Richard Mitchell, sloppy language makes sloppy thought possible. When it comes to sloppy language and to the sloppy thought that accompanies it, the education establishment is king. In this provocative book, therefore, Mitchell dissects the jargon-laden nonsense that passes for thought in America's schools by subjecting to his inimitable withering critique the letters, memos, speeches, and missives of those in charge of the life of the mind. The result is simultaneously alarming and enlightening -- alarming because instructors cannot give to their students the education they themselves do not have, and enlightening because it will teach the reader how better to use language and logic.

This book is a primer on subjecting one's own writing and thought to careful scrutiny. From Mitchell, you will learn that if you pause to find the right word and do not go on until you have found the right word, you will know better not only what you do think, but what you should think. If you do not pause to find the right word, you will make it clear to those who do pay attention to your words that you are thoughtless and careless. In other words, you will learn to do to your own words what Mitchell does to those of the educationists. The lesson is invaluable.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my life for the better., April 18, 1999

By 

Gerald Ladmirault (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Less Than Words Can Say: The Underground Grammarian (Hardcover)

I came into contact with Richard Mitchell's books when I was a college freshman in 1990, and it was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. I still re-read this one often-- I usually find that I've missed something; Mitchell's style, while quite humorous, is also quite dense--nary a wasted word will you see. It also goes into what's wrong with public education today as well. It's one of the most important books ever written.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book, December 3, 2002

By 

J. Roberts "RP madman" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Less Than Words Can Say (Paperback)

More a book on philosophy and the nature of thought than the problems and trials of language, Mitchell has put together a remarkably thoughtful and well-planned book.

He takes apart bad writing with skill and aplomb, but does so without exposing the bad writers to unnecessary, uneducational humiliation. Some would say he needs to lead with a gentler hand, but I think he does a good job of showing how poor language skills lead to poor thinking ability.