Share <Embed>

Buy New

$3.73

List Price: $22.00
Save: $18.27 (83%)

$3.73 + $3.99 shipping

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by braineybooks2.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Get it as soon as July 3 - 7 when you choose Expedited Shipping at checkout.

Ship to:

Select a shipping address:

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Add to Cart

$4.90
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: BOOK HARVEST

Add to Cart

$5.00
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Ravenspeak Books

Add to Cart

$10.69
& FREE Shipping on eligible orders. Details

Sold by: Amazon.com

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 2 images

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Hardcover – April 12, 2004

by Lynne Truss (Author)

1,002 customer reviews

See all 40 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle eBook

"Please retry"

$7.17

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$3.73

$0.15

Paperback

"Please retry"

$6.88

$5.25

$0.99

Audio CD, Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

—

$9.99

$3.74

Unknown Binding

"Please retry"

—

$41.83

—

We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. From the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, this lively history makes a powerful case for the preservation of a system of printing conventions that is much too subtle to be mucked about with.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

$3.73 + $3.99 shipping Only 1 left in stock - order soon. Ships from and sold by braineybooks2.

Frequently bought together

Total price: $7.92

These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss Hardcover $3.73
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by braineybooks2.
$3.99 shipping
The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr. Paperback $4.19
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Lynne Truss

113

Hardcover
$9.10
William Strunk

2,665

Hardcover
$8.86
Lynne Truss

32

Hardcover
$8.95
Lynne Truss

28

Hardcover
$10.57
Patricia T. O'Conner

326

Paperback
$7.37
Mary Norris

436

Hardcover
$11.13

Customers viewing this page may be interested in these sponsored links

(What's this?)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Who would have thought a book about punctuation could cause such a sensation? Certainly not its modest if indignant author, who began her surprise hit motivated by "horror" and "despair" at the current state of British usage: ungrammatical signs ("BOB,S PETS"), headlines ("DEAD SONS PHOTOS MAY BE RELEASED") and band names ("Hear'Say") drove journalist and novelist Truss absolutely batty. But this spirited and wittily instructional little volume, which was a U.K. #1 bestseller, is not a grammar book, Truss insists; like a self-help volume, it "gives you permission to love punctuation." Her approach falls between the descriptive and prescriptive schools of grammar study, but is closer, perhaps, to the latter. (A self-professed "stickler," Truss recommends that anyone putting an apostrophe in a possessive "its"-as in "the dog chewed it's bone"-should be struck by lightning and chopped to bits.) Employing a chatty tone that ranges from pleasant rant to gentle lecture to bemused dismay, Truss dissects common errors that grammar mavens have long deplored (often, as she readily points out, in isolation) and makes elegant arguments for increased attention to punctuation correctness: "without it there is no reliable way of communicating meaning." Interspersing her lessons with bits of history (the apostrophe dates from the 16th century; the first semicolon appeared in 1494) and plenty of wit, Truss serves up delightful, unabashedly strict and sometimes snobby little book, with cheery Britishisms ("Lawks-a-mussy!") dotting pages that express a more international righteous indignation.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This impassioned manifesto on punctuation made the best-seller lists in Britain and has followed suit here. Journalist Truss gives full rein to her "inner stickler" in lambasting common grammatical mistakes. Asserting that punctuation "directs you how to read in the way musical notation directs a musician how to play," Truss argues wittily and with gusto for the merits of preserving the apostrophe, using commas correctly, and resurrecting the proper use of the lowly semicolon. Filled with dread at the sight of ubiquitous mistakes in store signs and headlines, Truss eloquently speaks to the value of punctuation in preserving the nuances of language. Liberally sprinkling the pages with Briticisms ("Lawks-a-mussy") and moving from outright indignation to sarcasm to bone-dry humor, Truss turns the finer points of punctuation into spirited reading. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product details

Hardcover: 209 pages
Publisher: Avery; 1 edition (April 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1592400876
ISBN-13: 978-1592400874
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 7.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,002 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Books > Reference > Encyclopedias & Subject Guides > Humor
- #163 in Books > Reference > Words, Language & Grammar > Grammar
- #398 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Writing Skills

If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Important information

Ingredients

Example Ingredients

Directions

Example Directions

Customers viewing this page may be interested in these sponsored links

(What's this?)

Customer Reviews

1,002

4.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		55%
4 star		23%
3 star		9%
2 star		7%
1 star		6%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Pets

3.4 out of 5 stars

History

3.9 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Top Customer Reviews

Excellent book on grammar with some instruction, some anecdotes, and plenty of humor.

ByCoron February 25, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Hilarious. Well-written. Instructive at times.

I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a book. She has some really clever insight into grammar without being overcome by cynicism.
It is interesting to read about the state of grammar in the UK as well. It really defies the stereotype that many Americans have about Brits being stuffy and proper all the time.

Even though it isn't a grammar guide, she does offer some tips on usage. I was pleased she clarified the semicolon and colon issue and included several examples. At the same time this wasn't a "montage" of real-world grammar blunders with her corrects and/or snide comments, either.

But if you enjoy reading about grammar for fun at all, you'll probably enjoy this book. And even if not, you still might appreciate her witty and sardonic style.

And yes, she probably would disapprove of me starting my sentences with "and"...

0Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

I was a devotee of the great NYT columnist William Safire and Edwin Newman

ByIllinoisGirlon March 24, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Since I am a passionate reader and a writer, books about punctuation and grammar interest me. Back when I worked in editorial offices, nothing was more delightful than a debate with fellow journalists on the relative merits of the semi-colon over period. (Some thought that the semi-colon was pretentious.) Going back even further, as a young woman, I was a devotee of the great NYT columnist William Safire and Edwin Newman, the journalist who wrote "Strictly Speaking," one of the funniest books on the hackneyed use of the English.
Since I am a passionate reader and a writer, books about punctuation and grammar interest me. Back when I worked in editorial offices, nothing was more delightful than a debate with fellow journalists on the relative merits of the semi-colon over period. (Some thought that the semi-colon was pretentious.) Going back even further, as a young woman, I was a devotee of the great NYT columnist William Safire and Edwin Newman, the journalist who wrote "Strictly Speaking," one of the funniest books on the hackneyed use of the English.

Based on those esteemed predecessors, this book didn't hit the mark. It was good, and the author is passionate about punctuation, and I did learn a few things. One major issue is that punctuation is not the same on the other side of the pond (the U.K.), where marks have different names, are used (or not used) differently and us colonial types are referred to as "the" Americans as if we were a rather daunting opponent in the war against bad punctuation.

If you are a writer or a grammarian, this book will add to your knowledge. If you are simply looking for some grammatical entertainment, try Mr. Safire or Mr. Newman.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Really fun read!

Bymaruskion March 2, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

My ability to puctuate correctly was adequate, but I wanted to be better. I got this book and found it to be an enirely enjoyable read; it gives you confidence to use even the the more unusual punctuation marks correctly...

...and it's humerous too boot!

While the author is from the UK and explains usage common in that region, she also remarks on US usage where it differs. I was surprised to learn that there were regional differences and also that the proper use of punctuation marks is changing--and it always has over time.

In addition to being a book that comments on the use (or common misuse) of proper puctuation it is also organized in such a way that people who write can reference a certain item (do you have to use a period after Mr?) and read up if they have a question.

People writing e-books might especially appreciate this as many write without an editor; a fun book that makes punctuation accessible without suffering through Strunk and White is very welcome.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Proper English Lives!

BySherry B.on May 10, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

One would not expect a book on grammar and punctuation to be hilarious, but Truss brings laughter to almost every page. As one of those annoying people who cannot help but point out grammatical errors in public print (menus and grocers and ebooks, oh my!), I found a kindred spirit in Truss. I only wish she had provided her email address, so I could share with her the most egregious of the sign-errors I see every day. Every Grammar-phile should read this book, and keep it on her person for constant reference. Non Grammar-philes should read this book to learn the love of clarity in writing - and to pick up tools with which to defend it. You, too, could be one of those annoying people, confronting the abuse of quotation marks in greengrocers everywhere!

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A keeper

Bymarijhuffon March 28, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It's refreshing to read a book by an author who has such an obvious love of written language and all its nuances. To make it even better, Ms Truss has infused the entire work with wit and humor. I especially liked the way she was able to weave in a sense of the history of punctuation and its impact on written English, and I share her concern for the future of all these points, stops, and marks. This is a book to savor again and again.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A waste of time and money

ByNo-meon June 17, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Not funny. Boring. Annoying. Far too much fluff and garbage to weed through in order to get to the meat of punctuation. This book would make a terrible reference guide. There are far too many needless words, which make it difficult to zoom in on punctuation examples and advice. The first rule of Strunk and White is "omit needless words." This book is filled with words that are not necessary, not helpful and not worthwhile. I've gotten far more and far better punctuation information from Google, quickly, to the point, and for free. I was also annoyed that the author never explained the difference between the endash and the emdash. I strongly prefer the emdash, which she never even mentioned, she just used the endash, as if that were the only or the best dash option. It is not.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Customer Images

See all customer images

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Love it

Highly entertaining book arrives in great condition. Even the original stickers are all there. Now I can go and correct badly punctuated signage.

Published 1 day ago by Thomas

really funny!!

Hilariou's, I mean: really; really funny!!!

Published 9 days ago by Pete

Not the way to learn punctuation

Lots of information, but not clear if you are trying to learn proper punctuation. It is a fun review, but not as humorous as I had hoped.

Published 15 days ago by Pat32

The forgotten art of correct punctuation

Thoroughly interesting, keenly informative and cleverly humorous. One for all Gen-Y scoundrels and modern- day teachers to contemplate and apply.

Published 1 month ago by DRH

Boring

I heard this was funny, but I'm a punctuation fanatic and I just thought this was boring.

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

Eh.

There were certainly some interesting facts and entertaining thoughts, but most of the book was a boring slog of the random thoughts of its author.

Published 1 month ago by M. Thompson

Five Stars

Love this classic.

Published 1 month ago by Springrose

A favorite

Loved this when I read a decade ago and so happy to get it as an ebook. Hilarious and right on target.

Published 1 month ago by Pixie

I LOVE the British!

Nothing gets to me like British humor. I often wonder, what would have happened if the British had sent the ancestors of people like Lynne Truss to negotiate with the American...Read more

Published 1 month ago by InACornfield

Fun to read

Well written

Published 1 month ago by Chicago Mom

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

Set up a giveaway