Review by Booklist Review
Studying grammar should be good for something besides putting us to sleep. Wallraff's passion for English ensures that readers won't nod off. An editor at the Atlantic Monthly, where she writes the lively "Word Court" column, the author is a qualified judge--but never legislator--in matters of English style and usage. Her goal--promoting clearer communication through use of a common language and awareness of precedent--is achieved with as much wit and tact as earnestness and wisdom. Much of the book is given over to language inquiries, pet peeves, and advice from the author's "Word Court" correspondents. Among the matters dealt with are linguistic egalitarianism, when jargon becomes benign, and a "grammarian's dozen" of grammar issues that cause widespread confusion. Readers will enjoy the "eccentric" lexicon of commonly misused words and grapple with such issues as deciding the length of time after which we can stop referring to a dead person as "the late." This will be compared favorably with Safire, if not preferred. --Philip Herbst
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Here are two new books by well-known columnists/language mavens. Safire is funny, thought-provoking, and, after 20 years of writing columns for the New York Times Magazine, an American institution. Gathering these columns and including many letters from readers, his book focuses on the way our language was used historically and how it is used now. The columns are clever and highly readable, and some of the letters from readers are just as much fun. Wallraff has been writing her witty column for The Atlantic Monthly for many years. Partly a style and usage manual that will be valuable for reference and on the corner of a writing desk, this book is also a written lecture by a great English teacher. Safire and Wallraff cover some of the same ground and sometimes differ, one notable example being the use of the article an before words that start with h such as historian. The best part of these books is, in most instances, that the "right" usage is not as important as reading about how the authors formed their opinions. Safire may have a slight edge owing to name recognition, but both books will put smiles on many a reader's face.ÄLisa J. Cihlar, Monroe P.L., WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
For people who care about words'and judging from Wallraff's mail, they are legion'an up-to-date guide to usage that can be both pleasurably browsed and quickly consulted. For Wallraff, a long-time editor at the Atlantic Monthly, where her column, ``Word Court,'' first featured many of the exchanges collected here, words are not just a stock-in-trade but clearly a passion. Here, her thoughts about words are organized into an essay on changing fashions in words, a unpedantic discussion of some of the elements and niceties of grammar, an alphabetically arranged primer on word usage, and a mlange of topics that interest her but don't fit elsewhere, such as definitions of words that don't exist, pronunciations, and particular expressions and usages about which she has something instructive to say. Throughout, she uses the mail she has received at MsGrammar@theatlantic.com and the queries and comments from readers of her ``Word Court'' column to introduce the issues she deftly resolves here. While her correspondents are often piqued by what they perceive as outrages against the language, and sometimes commit a few themselves in their angry letters, Wallraff's replies are civil, pithy, and invariably helpful. No dull schoolmarm she. Referring to the use of a comma to join the two parts of the compound sentence, ``It's not a comet, it's a meteor,'' she comments, ``Punctuating this sentence with a semicolon would be like using a C-clamp to hold a sandwich together.' Especially valuable is her section on language-reference books. By describing her own reference shelf, she offers useful recommendations on dictionaries, usage guides, style manuals, thesauri, and other works, old and new, on the English language. According to Wallraff, we can demand of our words that they be ``judicious, lively, sympathetic, wise.'' These same adjectives can be aptly applied to her own writing.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
