Customer Reviews

Less Than Words Can Say

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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.

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.

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.

Through college and in the business world we are taught a thousand ways to write. Most of our lessons deal with the style of the reader/professor/boss. Unfortunately, these people have adapted to the same writing fallacies that plague the rest of the nation. This book addresses these common problems. The author explains the problem, gives us real life examples, and shows you how to avoid the problem in your writing. Additionally, the book is written in a witty sarcastic manner that is quite entertaining. The finished product is an entertaining book that actually teaches the reader something that they can use. I'd say it is a novel concept (pun intended)

If ever there was a must read book, Mitchell's is it. Buy it. Give it to friends. But don't give this version. It appears to be a computer typset reproduction printed without regard for typography or presentation. Those of us who remember Mitchell recall that early on he beautifully handset "The Underground Grammarian" using loose type, one character at a time, for a letterpress. Then he migrated to a Macintosh that closely duplicated the beauty and ease of reading of the original.

This bastardized version has long lines that are hard to read on large pages to reduce the cost.

Oh, but buy the book any way you can. Find a used original. Print if from online. Or buy this version if you must. What he says is too important to miss, if you value society and the necessary exchange of ideas it requires. Just remember that the original presented clarity in a beautiful way.

The book began very slowly, but picked up speed and became more enjoyable with the chapter entitled "The Columbus Gap". In that chapter, that author discusses a current refrain in public education, which goes along the lines that we don't know how to fix the problem in education, and the public certainly shouldn't expect it for the wages teachers are being paid. Most people besides the educators themselves can see the fuzzy logic of that, but the book goes into numerous more similar logical conundrums. I liked what the author had to say and agree with it thoroughly. His main point was that the educational system has been dumb-down over the years in order to make people feel better about themselves rather than to instill real knowledge and learning. The biggest problem I had with this book is that the author belabored each point and example he gave ad nauseum. The book was fairly short at 224pp for the 3rd printing hardback, but without repetitious passages could easily have been forty pages shorter making for a more pleasant and quicker read.

Yet what the author had to say was worth reading. Although I am sure this is not a book for the masses, it would be most beneficial to those in higher education, who are the least likely to read it, or if reading it paying attention to its premises, since it wholeheartedly disagrees with what they learned in getting their basic and advanced degrees in education. It is probably worth the time and price [it was for me] to judge its merits for yourself. Give it a try, but don't expect to finish it in one reading.

I first read Less Than Words Can Say in college, as a photocopied handout, and it changed the way I think about writing and language. It’s brilliant. I’m now an editor, and I wanted to buy a copy for a colleague, so I foolishly ignored the reviews here panning this edition of the book, and ordered it anyway. I ended up packing it up and sending it right back. I’m honestly not a typography snob, but in this case the typography is so bad it distracts you from the text. They used single quotes (`` and '') instead of real quotation marks, and dashes instead of hyphens (“young lady straying dryad—fashion through the surviving oaks”), so you can’t tell whether you’re reading a hyphenated word or two separate clauses. I’d rather read the online version at sourcetext.com, or even a photocopy of my old photocopy.

The Underground Grammarian picks up where Edwin Newman left off, lampooning abuses and abusers of the language. But he does more than ridicule; he delves into the reasons for the abuse. While his target is primarily the educational establishment, his insights apply more broadly.

Mr. Mitchell also reminds us of the power and beauty of the language, when used well.

It is a good read, although it can be infuriating.

Mitchell's book, like Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary, is satire. Likewise, Mitchell's book is both entertaining and cleverly written as well as one that hammers home the thesis that that inferior thinking begets inferior writing. Unfortunately, Mitchell also resembles Bierce in his unrelieved crankiness, a trait in authors that ought to be taken in small doses unless one positively enjoys the drawing of dark clouds over the sky.

Just reading the introduction to this work will have you laughing. Anyone that has the great pleasure to have worked with administrative types will find this humorous.
The first chapter has a very confusing description of a language that sets a tone for the confusing items of English.
I bought this book on a recommendation of a college professor. But, if you are at all interested in communications or good writing, I recommend this book strongly.