books:

	The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style Bryan A. Garner Oxford University Press, USA, 2000 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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The enteries are quite fascinating to read. For example, is "data" plural or singular? What's the difference between "flaunt" and "flout"? Can you end a sentence with a preposition? Is the plural for octopus "octopi" or "octopuses?" The list goes on and on. This book is not dry at all. If you have any interest in language and writing, this is a necessity to have.

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An em-dash of salt, to flavor

Concise, clear, well-developed, and engrossing entries show Bryan A. Garner employs the annotations he presents in The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style. Not only is this abridged version of Garner's Modern American Usage fun and interesting to read (and shorter than the original, obviously), it covers the fundamental (all 360 pages worth) details of American English that anyone truly serious about the language should pay attention to.

Garner writes in the preface, "Although there are good, clarifying forces at work on the language, there are also bad, obscuring forces. And these bad forces tend to work most perniciously on people who are heedless of their language. It's hard to know such a thing, but this segment of society may well be on the rise.
"This book could never reach those people."

This dictionary makes one aware of those bad, obscuring forces and their effects. But it also effectively explains those misconceptions, misused forms, mispronunciations, needless variants, useless words, and, in many cases, how the "mistakes" evolved. Garner also gives longer essay entries confronting usage and style questions based on topic rather than word.

The over 2,000 quotations from publications (usually newspapers and books), serving as both good and bad examples, paint the objects of Garner's entries into a vibrant mural embodying effective American English. This visualization, combined with Garner's strewn-about humor, takes dry topics and makes them flow more easily for the average reader.

I find myself constantly going back and looking up things in this dictionary, because while few are going to remember everything in it, there's at least the chance of remembering there is a question on the word or subject. If you want answers, keeping The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style handy will likely help you find what you're looking for. (And yes, "Perfectly natural-sounding sentences end with prepositions, particularly when a verb with a preposition-particle appears at the end.")

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Easy to use, never fussy, balances what's right with what's effective

If you're ever afraid that you've mistaken "it's" and "its," or if the sight of everyone reading "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" makes you terrified to write a note, you'll want a copy of this book on your desk. Although a good usage manual depends on the reader having some sense of style (enough to look up uncertain techniques or phrases), too many treat you either like a child or an English teacher, scolding you or explaining their advice in impenetrable jargon. (Many such books don't seem to have taken their own advice about simplicity and clarity.) "The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage" is the exception, a book about language that's well-written and inviting, one that doesn't make you feel like you're back in your grandmother's parlor having every sentence corrected. As one of the other reviewers notes, the range of sources and examples is phenomenal--one way you can double-check your phrasing is to see if you'd want to sound like the writers in Garner's citations. But I'm even more impressed with the simple organization and headings. I sometimes have trouble finding advice in a writer's reference because I can't recall the technical term for what I'm trying to do, but entries in Garner's book are easy to find and richly cross-referenced. Most important, Garner's ear for English is impeccable, and you'll want it listening (as it were) over your shoulder. He acknowledges long-held rules but--where applicable--demonstrates their obsolescence; he also recognizes new usages and gives fair warning of the connotations you risk if you use them before they've become standard.

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Yank usage, the pleasures of

Ani Hurwitz, NYC PR pro and another grammar brat, recommended this book with glee in her voice. Professional writers enjoy having a few of these things around, for instant rulings on commonly encountered knots such as "which vs. that." Bryan Garner's American usage rule book is an uncommon delight. It does its basic job with panache, but there's so much added linguistic pleasure between these covers. When you find yourself (as I did) reading random entries for their wit, precision, and style, you have a winner. A distinguished, modern addition to your "how should I properly put this?" reference shelf. Excellent casual reading material for the guest bathroom, too.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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