regarding the review just below, no professional editor could have written "this one earns it's cost." Oh, wait...the individual is Canadian. (8/22/08) My apologies to our northern neighbors for the above, which must have been posted after one Labatt's too many.
A professional editor discovers a classic:
There's no question that Bernstein's book has got to be on your shelf if you're a professional editor, as I am. I was happy to find it on the shelf of Amazon when all Canadian efforts to procure a copy failed (OK, I just called a few local booksellers and checked Amazon's competitor; I didn't say I'm not a _lazy_ editor sometimes).
It's a useful volume that has been used in my office to put snivelly writers back into their places as an effective "See, I _told_ you you're using those casualisms... more info
Wonderful for students:
As advisor to a school newspaper staff, I recommended this marvelous book to the students because it made finding the precise word or the correct pronunciation fun. Bernstein was copy editor for the New York Times; he is a true expert, with a wonderful sense of humor. I have bought a copy of "The Careful Writer" for each of five grandchildren as they were setting off to college, and now routinely give the book as a high-school graduation present.
For Those Who Love Language:
I suppose one might argue that other usage guides are perhaps more thorough and instructive but for quality none outshines The Careful Writer. Theodore M. Bernstein created a gem for the ages when he assembled this collection of some 2,000 entries. I cannot imagine how often I've consulted this text to resolve some slippery usage issue or to refine my own text.
If you need help sorting out the use gender vs. sex, for instance, here you will find that gender is a grammatical term and not at all synonymous... more info
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