The Elements of Style

I received The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition from a very close friend a few years back, and she was someone who understood my love for this book that goes back to my college days in the 1970s. Someone once asked me how I was able to hold a 3.9 average in college back in the post-Vietnam era when as a veteran I was in school and working full time. My answer then is as it is now: "Strunk and White." But if my friend reads this, I hope that she will accept my apology that I rarely open the cover of this book, yet it's one of my most treasured. It's the accepted 4th edition, and now a collectable in this hardbound version. These days I use a well worn paperback edition, The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition , which is still accessed at least a few times a week. I just heep this one on a special bookshelf with my most treasured books, and still glance at it when using the paperback. There are plenty of reviews, both pro and con, posted here on both of the above editions, and I am not as erudite as some of the other reviewers, nor am I an authority. As far as these editions go, Time Magazine listed Strunk & White's 'The Elements of Style' as "one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923" in their August 30, 2011 issue. But my concern is that there are many editions of "The Elements of Style" listed here on Amazon, both in paper and Kindle editions, yet few of them are what the reader may assume are the real ones. For example, this THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE - The Original Edition (Annotated) may not be the edition that you're looking for. It's one of a number of versions of the original title "The Elements of Style" written by Cornell University English professor William Strunk, Jr., who wrote it 1918. But this is not the version that is also known as "Strunk & White." The product description is incorrect. There are other Kindle reissues of the 1918 edition, most notably THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE (UPDATED 2011 EDITION) The All-Time Bestselling Book on Writing English Newly Edited (Special 2011 Edition) The Elements of Style OVER 10 MILLION COPIES SOLD! [Revised ], which notes that it is newly revised and edited by Chris Hong, who is listed in the electronic flyleaf as a former editor at Harvard University, and bears a © 2011 The Elements of Style Press notation. This particular edition does have a slightly better layout on the Kindle, and the table of contents is well hyperlinked, but no mention is made of original author William Strunk, Jr., except for his name on the flyleaf. Among the other Kindle editions are The Elements of Style (Original Edition) , with the quill on it's cover is basic, and it costs under a dollar. But if you're going for basic, the The Elements of Style edition with its generic cover is a no-cost freebie. And there are other Kindle editions if you search. The problem with these 1918 editions is that the writing style is dated. Original author Strunk had died in 1946, and in 1959, the publishers commissioned writer and author E. B. White, well known for his Charlotte's Web , that classic for children, to revise the 41-year-old text. This was was fitting as Strunk had been one of White's professors at Cornell. White's rework of the book was extremely well received, and further editions of the work followed in 1972, 1979, and 1999. White's expansion and modernization of Strunk's original became informally known as Strunk & White. As to whether it's considered a valid part of a writer's bookshelf, more than ten million copies of the three editions of Strunk & White have been sold. The history of this writing manual can be found in Mark Garvey's Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style , which was published in 2009, an excellent book in its own right. So if you're looking for the real Strunk & White, The Elements of Style (4th Edition) , by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, is one you want, and it's only available in paper editions, except for the rare The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition , which is now a collectable. Otherwise, you may enjoy one of the Kindle editions listed here, but think of them more as an interesting background than as contemporary writing style references. 9/11/2012

I purchased the fiftieth anniversary edition of "William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style". It is a little hardcover book, beautifully bound in black and gold, and well enough made to last beyond this generation. So it should. To me, it is a valuable treasure. I learnt English Grammar during the nineteen-fifties in Australia, but today there seems to be no such subject. Such a tragedy. But this little book is much more than grammar. It tells how to use our language, and it tells it with great authority. It is the sort of contribution that will help save our beautiful language from the decline that is becoming evident everywhere we look. Any aspiring writer, in fact every writer should read this book, and read it often. It produces an amazing sense of confidence. My writing style evolved instantly as a result, and I admit to a certain faint redness of cheek sometimes when editing my latest work. Buy ten copies to give as gifts. You will be doing the world a favour. Kind regards.

Picked this one up so I could learn to communicate as other writers in the industry have been taught. I learned the source of a lot of rules that I have picked up over the years. Stuck and White come across as quaint, restrictive and curmudgeonly, but I was surprised to see some deference to the audience and the writer’s task and audience in the book. Otherwise stated, the book makes the rules, and then acknowledges the rules can be broken. I will definitely need to read this again and again to get the point. So many rules.

This timeless little book, "The Elements of Style", By William Strunk Jr., and E.B. White, is probably on every writer's go to informational shelf. If you are a student of English, a person who writes letters to your friends/family, someone who is meticulous about your correspondence, I propose this to be the must have book for your bookcase, desk, or your high school student. It makes a great gift for that discriminating someone. This book has been directing professors, teachers, English majors, writers, college students, and all who wish to correctly pen the English word, for more than fifty years. This leather bound anniversary edition, would be a lovely cherished addition for anyone who appreciates the English language. PS: I bought it as a birthday gift for myself. Good for me. I deserve it! So, go ahead and treat yourself. You're worth it.

Some schools don't teach the basic punctuation and grammar like they used to, so I found this to be a very handy guide on my bookshelf. This is also the perfect gift for any humanities graduate/student, aspiring writer or journalist because it so succinctly and clearly reminds you how to avoid those basic language traps and mistakes that we are prone to. Simply timeless advice packed into such a stylish little black book.

First published in 1920, this definitive text on English grammar and composition answers most style questions in approximately 100 pages. There have been countless other efforts since this one, often with hundreds more pages, but none do it better. It answers the basic questions any writer occasionally encounters-comma usage, clauses, paragraphs and construction. Despite the fact it's been nearly 100 years since this book was written, it's never been rendered obsolete. It doesn't matter if your field is business or creative writing, the rules of structure still apply. The English language is imprecise and difficult to master but without understanding the elements of it then properly constructing anything from an email to a thesis or novel will not occur. In these days of emojis and alphabetical shortcuts, we are losing the battle of writing proper sentences but this book, if studied, will remind us of how important the written word is and how to make it understandable. A must read for anyone interested in writing well.

I figured I originally read this in college and I have a faulty memory of it boring me to tears. Faulty, because I am amazed at how much it resonates and repeated in my mind throughout my writing. This is a must read and an irreplaceable editors companion. If you have any ambition to be a writer, please read this. You will be amazed at how it changes your habits. M.

An excellent product

Este clásico es una joya, dejé mi copia en un storage en USA y fue un alivio conseguirlo en Amazon Mexico. Lo recomiendo enormemente a estudiantes y/o profesionales quienes deban escribir en inglés. Hace toda la diferencia del mundo y sus lectores les agradecerán su nuevo estilo de escritura.

Libro útil para aprender a escribir en inglés en los diferentes estilos, enfocado al ámbito laboral

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