The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition [Hardcover]

William Strunk (Author), E. B. White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0205632645 | ISBN-13: 978-0205632640 | Edition: 1

You know the authors’ names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. And now The Elements of Style–the most widely read and employed English style manual–is available in a specially bound 50th Anniversary Edition that offers the title's vast audience an opportunity to own a more durable and elegantly bound edition of this time-tested classic.

Offering the same content as the Fourth Edition, revised in 1999, the new casebound 50th Anniversary Edition includes a brief overview of the book's illustrious history. Used extensively by individual writers as well as high school and college students of writing, it has conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. This new deluxe edition makes the perfect gift for writers of any age and ability level.

 

Fifty Years of Acclaim for The Elements of Style:

                                                                                                                                                                               

“I first read Elements of Style during the summer before I went off to Exeter, and I still direct my students at Harvard to their definition about the difference between 'that' and 'which.'  It is the Bible for good, clear writing.” -- Henry Louis Gates Jr.

 

“For writers of all kinds and sizes the world begins and ends with Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. Only something to actually write about trumps the list of what is required to put words together in some kind of coherent way. I treasure its presence in my life and salute its fifty years of glory and accomplishment.” -- Jim Lehrer

 

“The Elements of Style remains an unwavering beacon of light in these grammatically troubled times.  I would be lost without it.”-- Ann Patchett

 

"To the extent I know how to write clearly at all, I probably taught myself while I was teaching others -- seventh graders, in Flint, Michigan, in 1967.  I taught them with a copy of Strunk & White lying in full view on my desk, sort of in the way the Gideons leave Bibles in cheap hotel rooms, as a way of saying to the hapless inhabitant: ‘In case your reckless ways should strand you here, there's help.’  S&W doesn't really teach you how to write, it just tantalizingly reminds you that there's an orderly way to go about it, that clarity's ever your ideal, but -- really -- it's all going to be up to you."-- Richard Ford

 

 

“The Elements of Style never seems to go out of date. Its counsel is sound and funny, wise and unpretentious. And while its precepts are a foundation of direct communication, Strunk and White do not insist on a way of writing beyond clear expression. The rest is up to the imagination, the intelligence within.”-- David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker

 

 “It’s the toughness–the irreverence and implicit laughter–that attracted me to the little book when I was seventeen. I fell in love with Strunk & White’s loathing for cant and bloviation, the ruthless cutting of crap, jargon, and extra words. For me, that skeptical directness included a tacit permission by The Elements of Style to break its rules on occasion: an alloy of generosity in the blade, a grace I still admire and still learn from.”-- Robert Pinsky

 

“In the quest for clarity, one can have no better guides than Strunk and White. For me, their book has been invaluable and remains essential.”-- Dan Rather

 

"Eschew surplusage! A perfect book."--Jonathan Lethem

 

"Not until I started teaching writing and I reread The Elements of Style did I realize that most everything I would be teaching young writers, and everything I would be learning myself as a writer, was contained between the covers of this slim, elegant, wise little book."-- Julia Alvarez

 

“Strunk and White seared their way into my brain long ago, and I benefit from them daily.”-- Steven J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics

 

“Since high school, I have kept a copy of this book handy. That should be unnecessary. I should, by now, have fully internalized The Elements of Style. But sometimes I get entangled in a paragraph that refuses to be ‘clear, brief, bold.’ I dip back into The Elements of Style and am refreshed. After Scott Simon interviewed me on NPR about whether the word ‘e-mail’ needs a hyphen (yes, it does), some listeners, including friends of mine, wondered why I had answered in the affirmative when asked, in passing, ‘Are you a drunken white man?’ Those listeners misheard. ‘Strunk and White man’ was what Scott said.”-- Roy Blount Jr.

 

“Strunk & White--writing's good-natured law firm--still contains enough sparkling good sense to clean up the whole bloviating blogosphere."-- Thomas Mallon

 

 “I used Strunk -- that’s what we called it, Strunk -- as a student at Berkeley fifty years ago.  I didn't know that it was new, and that we were the first generation to be educated in The Elements of Style.  I got a firm foundation in the English language, learned to write basically, and could depict the realistic world.  Then I was able to become an impressionist and expressionist.” -- Maxine Hong Kingston

 

 “Strunk and White's gigantic little book must be the most readable advice on writing ever written.  Side by side with Roget, Shakespeare, the Bible, and a dictionary, it's an essential for every writer's shelf.”-- X.J. Kennedy...

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You know the authors’ names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. And now The Elements of Style—the most widely read and employed English style manual—is available in a specially bound 50th Anniversary Edition that offers the title's vast audience an opportunity to own a more durable and elegantly bound edition of this time-tested classic.

Offering the same content as the Fourth Edition, revised in 1999, the new casebound 50th Anniversary Edition includes a brief overview of the book's illustrious history. Used extensively by individual writers as well as high school and college students of writing, it has conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. This new deluxe edition makes the perfect gift for writers of any age and ability level.

 

 

Fifty Years of Acclaim for The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

                                                                                                                                                                               

“I first read Elements of Style during the summer before I went off to Exeter, and I still direct my students at Harvard to their definition about the difference between 'that' and 'which.'  It is the Bible for good, clear writing.”

                        -- Henry Louis Gates Jr.

 

“For writers of all kinds and sizes the world begins and ends with Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. Only something to actually write about trumps the list of what is required to put words together in some kind of coherent way. I treasure its presence in my life and salute its fifty years of glory and accomplishment.”

                        -- Jim Lehrer

 

“The Elements of Style remains an unwavering beacon of light in these grammatically troubled times.  I would be lost without it.”

                        -- Ann Patchett

 

"To the extent I know how to write clearly at all, I probably taught myself while I was teaching others -- seventh graders, in Flint, Michigan, in 1967.  I taught them with a copy of Strunk & White lying in full view on my desk, sort of in the way the Gideons leave Bibles in cheap hotel rooms, as a way of saying to the hapless inhabitant: ‘In case your reckless ways should strand you here, there's help.’  S&W doesn't really teach you how to write, it just tantalizingly reminds you that there's an orderly way to go about it, that clarity's ever your ideal, but -- really -- it's all going to be up to you."

                        -- Richard Ford

 

 

“The Elements of Style never seems to go out of date. Its counsel is sound and funny, wise and unpretentious. And while its precepts are a foundation of direct communication, Strunk and White do not insist on a way of writing beyond clear expression. The rest is up to the imagination, the intelligence within.”

                        -- David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker

 

 “It’s the toughness—the irreverence and implicit laughter—that attracted me to the little book when I was seventeen. I fell in love with Strunk & White’s loathing for cant and bloviation, the ruthless cutting of crap, jargon, and extra words. For me, that skeptical directness included a tacit permission by The Elements of Style to break its rules on occasion: an alloy of generosity in the blade, a grace I still admire and still learn from.”

                        -- Robert Pinsky

 

“In the quest for clarity, one can have no better guides than Strunk and White. For me, their book has been invaluable and remains essential.”

                        -- Dan Rather

 

"Eschew surplusage! A perfect book."

                        --Jonathan Lethem

 

"Not until I started teaching writing and I reread The Elements of Style did I realize that

most everything I would be teaching young writers, and everything I would be learning myself as a writer, was contained between the covers of this slim, elegant, wise little book."

                        -- Julia Alvarez

 

 “Strunk and White seared their way into my brain long ago, and I benefit from them daily.”

                        -- Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics

 

“Since high school, I have kept a copy of this book handy. That should be unnecessary. I should, by now, have fully internalized The Elements of Style. But sometimes I get entangled in a paragraph that refuses to be ‘clear, brief, bold.’ I dip back into The Elements of Style and am refreshed.

     After Scott Simon interviewed me on NPR about whether the word ‘e-mail’ needs a hyphen (yes, it does), some listeners, including friends of mine, wondered why I had answered in the affirmative when asked, in passing, ‘Are you a drunken white man?’ Those listeners misheard. ‘Strunk and White man’ was what Scott said.”

                        -- Roy Blount Jr.

 

“Strunk & White--writing's good-natured law firm--still contains enough sparkling good sense to clean up the whole bloviating blogosphere."

                  -- Thomas Mallon

 

 “I used Strunk -- that’s what we called it, Strunk -- as a student at Berkeley fifty years ago.  I didn't know that it was new, and that we were the first generation to be educated in The Elements of Style.  I got a firm foundation in the English language, learned to write basically, and could depict the realistic world.  Then I was able to become an impressionist and expressionist.” 

                  -- Maxine Hong Kingston

 

 “Strunk and White's gigantic little book must be the most readable advice on writing ever written.  Side by side with Roget, Shakespeare, the Bible, and a dictionary, it's an essential for every writer's shelf.”

                        -- X.J. Kenned...

About the Author

William Strunk, Jr. was a Professor of English at Cornell University and first published a private editon of his "little book"  in 1919 for his own writing students. The book was published in 1935 by Oliver Strunk.

E. B. White was a student in Professor Strunk's class at Cornell, and used the small volume himself, during which time he became respectful and appreciative of its pithy and indispensable writing advice.  Commissioned by Macmillan to revise the book, White edited and created new material for the 1959 and 1972 editions of The Elements of Style.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 1 edition (October 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205632645
• ISBN-13: 978-0205632640
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 87 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A criticism of the edition, not the book July 6, 2010

By Fuad Tabba

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

First of all, I want to make it clear that I love this book. I borrowed it from a friend a few years ago, which is why I thought it was high time I got my own copy. Unfortunately, once I did, I found that the actual quality of the printing of this edition is horrible. The paper feels cheap and the text looks as if it were poorly photocopied. You would definitely not expect this from an edition billed as "more durable and elegantly bound edition". The only good thing I could say about this edition is that the cover is indeed beautiful, which is a good thing if all you want is something that looks nice on a bookshelf.

I recommend the 4th edition instead.

99 of 109 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful edition April 2, 2009

By Bryan Reynolds

Format:Hardcover

I picked this up sometime in December, after having read the original edition online for free. I know it has been getting a lot of bad reviews citing greed and whatnot, so I thought I'd add my thoughts on this newest edition of the most useful primer on the craft of writing.

In my opinion, the biggest draw of this new edition is the cover. It's black and professional looking; The perfect compliment for your shelf of writing books. I would recommend this edition to anyone willing to spend a little extra for a copy that isn't likely to fall apart after a few dozen reads. Long after you feel you've mastered all there is, you will still find yourself dipping into this now and again as a refresher. The advice is timeless and this high-quality edition does it justice.

If you're a student or don't care about a nicely bound hardcover, you could do just fine getting the ~$10 softcover edition.

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Down to earth and helpful April 15, 2009

By Suc Hamate

Format:Hardcover

It's concise.
It's humorous.
It's straightforward.
It's well balanced and reasonably biased.
It's articulate and persuading.
It's just handy if you'd like to write in English.
All in all, it's a must buy.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A defense of Strunk and White May 28, 2010

By SP

Format:Hardcover

The Elements of Style is to contemporary writing what Aristotle's Poetics is to Western literature: it's so succinct that you don't realize at first just how much it has to tell you. It's easy to laugh when reading the table of contents; the thought of anyone summing up usage, composition, and style in so few chapters can seem like a joke. But once you read enough other books about writing--as I did this past year in university courses on linguistics, writing, and grammar--you realize that no other book gives such a wide range of advice with such depth. Best of all, perhaps, is Strunk and White's own style: simple, direct, and funny prose makes this book a gem (a favorite jab from the section about avoiding "a breezy manner" in one's writing: "'Spontaneous me,' sang Whitman, and, in his innocence, let loose the horde of uninspired scribblers who would one day confuse spontaneity with genius.").

Then again, you probably don't need me to point out this book's greatness; over fifty years of popularity and the acclaim of writers much more accomplished than I am probably speak for themselves. But let me address some common complaints I've heard about the book:

(1) "It's dated." Those who make this complaint probably see the word "style" in the title and, before reading a word between the covers, assume that the book is a bossy manifesto on the English language's ever-changing styles. Strunk and White are writing not about the popular literary styles of their time--nor, for that matter, the times at which the book's other editions were published (note the reference to Toni Morrison's Beloved in one of the chapters)--but on the specific elements of nonfiction prose that have been relatively stable over the past couple of centuries....
(2) "Its advice is antiquated and overly prescriptive." Actually, not at all. The book encourages splitting infinitives, using the passive voice, and ending sentences with prepositions when doing otherwise would make a sentence sound "stiff" or "needlessly formal"; by comparison, many writing teachers I've had would mark down any paper I wrote that committed one of these so-called "sins" of style. Those who make this complaint about the book probably only read the table of contents and interpret its list of tips as parochial imperatives. Really, imagine if there were a chapter titled: "Usually avoid the passive voice, but sometimes don't." (The section on "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused," to be fair, does have some stodgy directives. Why is the word "contact" "vague and self-important"? Why can't the word "enormity" be "used to express bigness," as the usage section of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary suggests with unusual persuasiveness that it can? Then again, the book's explanation of the word "hopefully" is the most sane I've read.)
(3) "Strunk and White break their own rules in other parts of the book." See (2). Style is not a rigid set of rules that can never be broken; if Strunk and White occasionally deviate from these "rules," there is probably a reason behind their stylistic choice.
(4) "The book says nothing about sexist language." Well, actually, it does: see the section on "They. He or she." in "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused." But keep in mind that this is not The Elements of Political Correctness; writing an insensitive or prejudiced sentence suggests more of a moral deficit than an ignorance of good style. Then again, a peer in a writing class I took in college argued that the universal "he" (i.e., supplying male pronouns when the gender of the subject in question is uncertain, as in: "A writer should practice his craft every day.") is stylistically "more elegant" than most gender-neutral turns of phrase (e.g., "he or she," the plural "they," etc.). Of course it's true that a sentence like "A writer should practice his or her craft every day" sounds clunky, but there are almost innumerable ways to rewrite such a sentence with neither clutter nor discrimination; once you accomplish the apparently difficult feat of figuring out why sexist language offends people, The Elements of Style will show you how.
(5) "The book is hardly the 'writer's bible' that it's touted to be." What book is? If you're looking for more depth, the book you need is probably a linguistics or philosophy textbook; if you're looking for greater breadth, you probably need a dictionary. Other style guides will obviously touch on points that Strunk and White do not, but usually these other guides will address stylistic errors that are much less common than those found in The Elements of Style. As for where Strunk and White's advice overlaps with that of other style guides, few other guides explain things with such precision and force.

Those who need other justifications of this book's merits should also read William Strunk's introduction to the first edition, now reprinted in this edition. Once you do, buy this book, read it, and savor it. Keep it on the shelf closest to wherever you do your writing. Then sit down and start writing. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Little Book December 12, 2009

By S. M. L.

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Can't go wrong with Strunk & White. This book won't teach you how to write, but it is very helpful for remembering the little things that we always seem to forget. For example, when to use who or whom? And it's so well written, it is almost worth reading for its own sake.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Has an immediate and everlasting effect on your writing. January 21, 2009

By Dextra L. Suggs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're writing without first consulting Strunk and Whites, Elements of Style, STOP! This book should be standard issue for anyone writing anything. By it, refer to it often, and watch your writing skills improve. Bon Appetite!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Business Owner June 7, 2009

By Richard E. Meyer

Format:Hardcover

I have been using the Elements of Style for almost 50 years and have recommended it to many, including my five children. This past Christmas I puchased copies to use as gifts. It continues to be a most useful tool in my writing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Edition, But Handle With Care! May 1, 2011

By Paige McCoy

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Even people who haven't read through this book should know that it's the de facto manual for improving your writing. The information it contains is just as relevant today as when it was written.

Since the content of the book isn't any different this time around, let's talk about the edition itself. As some other reviewers have mentioned, this is a very attractive edition of The Elements of Style. Embossed lettering and a leatherette cover definitely make for a fancier copy than the basic soft and hardcover editions. Inside, it's beautifully printed with an easy-to-see contrast between paper and ink.

The biggest issue with this edition for me is how flimsy the paper is. This is essentially a reference book, but the paper's thinness makes me think it won't hold up to being thumbed through over time.

This would make a nice gift for a budding writer, or look good on a shelf if you don't plan to consult it often. For college students, professional writers or anyone else who might get heavy use out of The Elements of Style, go for one of the oversized paperbacks with the thick paper instead.