Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (8th Edition) [Paperback]

Joseph M. Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0321288319 | ISBN-13: 978-0321288318 | Edition: 8

Engaging and direct, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace is the guidebook for anyone who wants to write well.  

Key Benefit

Engaging guidebook for anyone who wants to write well.

 

Key Topics

Style, Clarity, Grace, Form, Ethics Guidelines for writing.

 

Market:

General Interest: Improving writing

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 8 edition (January 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321288319
• ISBN-13: 978-0321288318
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Best, September 6, 2006

By 

Reader/Dog Lover - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (8th Edition) (Paperback)

It is difficult to know where to begin. I am writing a brief review of this book to counter the negative reviews I read. I was stunned: I expected to read rave reviews of Professor Williams' book. Without wanting to offend anyone, they are for the most part so far off the mark I would think they were talking about another book.

One author mentioned Strunk and White's book as the ideal. As much as I loved this book when I was young, it seems slightly old-fashioned, even quaint now, and encourages an attention to rules that seems superficial. On the other hand, Williams' book takes advantage of the more systematic, deep approach to language, rhetoric and communication that was developed by the best linguists of the 20th century. There is a good reason that this book has had so many editions for such a long period of time (now in the 8th edition). It is because it is based on an insight that touches a deep truth about communicating in writing: that subjects and verbs, or characters and their actions as Williams helpfully calls them at times, form the basic elements of the English sentence. It is Williams' ability to draw out the implications of this simple truth that gives his book its genius. Emerson once said that rhythm is the deep structure of the universe (he said it better but I can't remember his words); I feel that Emerson would smile in agreement at Williams thesis: that it is an understanding of the significance of the basic character/action relationship between the subject and verb that gives a sentence its strength and, on a "higher" level, the same systole/diastole relationship between theme and discussion that gives a paragraph its strength.

I am by no means doing Professor Williams' book justice, and I would not have written this review if the others had not been so, well, wrong. His writing bad? On the contrary, good writing, as Williams points out in a useful addition to one of the later editions of his book on controlling longer sentences, does not mean Dick and Jane type sentences, and he does not allow himself to fall into Strunk and White's tendency to oversimplify in explaining his ideas. I am now directing an English language program at a major university in Thailand after teaching English at Indiana University for 20 years, and I was recently asked to teach a graduate course on writing. What book did I first reach for in looking for the most substantial, concrete, practical and useful lessons on writing so that my students would not be exposed to the usual platitudes on omitting needless words and relying on your taste to be your guide? Professor Williams' book of course. It is the best of the best and will reward you endlessly as you apply his basic insights in your own writing.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Practical, January 4, 2007

By 

M. Nir (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (8th Edition) (Paperback)

I view writing manuals with more than a hint of jaundice, but I found this one surprisingly practical. I first encountered in in law school, and the examples and exercises helped me to understand where people would find my writing confusing, even when I thought I was being clear. It also helped me become a better editor -- because I could explain to other writers where they were stumbling and how to correct it.

I lost my copy when I moved after law school, and immediately bought another one -- money being perhaps the most telling recommendation of all.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Generally Good Advice, February 7, 2009

By 

C. Ziegler (LA, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (8th Edition) (Paperback)

Very thoughtful read-- I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from such a respected editor as Williams about editing and overall style. Many of his suggestions are good ones, and the simplicity of his lessons are encouraging for timid writers.
However, I don't agree with everything that Williams suggests. In his quest for clarity, Williams cites many writers of the past, some who could use clarity, and others that I strongly feel wrote merely with elegance and their own sense of style. Williams proceeds to edit examples from these writers' works, in the process losing the personality of the writing.
This is one of the few flaws I found in his book, and overall I would recommend Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace to anyone who struggles for readable prose that doesn't sounds like something written by a twelve-year-old.