World Famous Comics: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, 2nd Edition (The Complete Idiot's Guide)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style, 2nd Edition (The Complete Idiot's Guide)
By: Laurie E. Rozakis Publisher: Alpha Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Alpha Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 432 Publication Date: August 05, 2003 Release Date: August 05, 2003
Amazon.com: The jokey, conversational style of the Complete Idiot's Guide series is better suited to some of its many subjects than to others, but for the Guide to Grammar and Style, it works. This book might not be appropriate for professional proofreaders in search of the definitive use of the en dash, but it is a solid, amusing volume for those who daydreamed through grade school and would like to brush up on the fundamentals. Puns, silly humor, and hyperbole abound, but so do the entertaining quotations from beloved masters of the English language that author Laurie E. Rozakis has managed to dig up. For every "The rules of standard written English are ... more frightening than a sail on the Titanic," there is an amusing tidbit such as this one, courtesy of Calvin Trillin: "Whom is a word invented to make everyone sound like a butler. Nobody who is not a butler has ever said it out loud without feeling just a little bit weird." For every "Like my thighs, the distinction between that and which is becoming less firm," we have someone such as James Thurber to show us how to break a rule in style. "When I split an infinitive," Thurber is said to have admonished a meddlesome editor, "it is going to damn well stay split!" The text is highly energetic, and Rozakis cuts to the chase. For instance, she summarizes one chapter this way: "Don't be a sexist pig; ditch doublespeak; end euphemisms; can clichés." And she offers us these wise words, from Thomas Jefferson: "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do."
Download Description: A staple for adults, students, and anyone who has ever been baffled by then to use a comma--and a serial comma--The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style contains basic chapters on the parts of speech, gradually building up to the finer points of writing, sentence structure, punctuation, creating paragraphs, and following accepted publishing styles.
Not bad Over all the Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style offers good information that is usually easy to understand. However, the child-like humor ruined it for me. The auther often talks down to you as if you are truely an idiot, which I find unprofessional. There are wierd sentences scattered through out the book, such as, sacred cows, which are holy, make the best hamburgers. What the hell kind of sentence is this? Perhaps she has something against Hindus. Between the odd sentence examples and child-like humor you will find good information. Sometimes the author says things like I guarantee you will understand such and such after you finish this chapter, but the chapter is short and not clear at all. I was debating giving this book 3 stars, but it does a good enough job to earn 4.
The sense of humor gets in the way In some ways it's tough to see who this book is aimed at. It starts off with the very basics (what's a noun?), so it seems to be aimed at people who really don't know the first thing about grammar, but it moves quickly after that. Perhaps the book is aimed at people who need to brush up on details, or clear up confusions, and Rozakis just felt it necessary to explain the basics first. At any rate, either you'll find the first part of the book interminably boring, or you'll find the rest of it confusing. .
At first I liked the sense of humor with which this book was written; I thought it was a good way to make boring grammar more interesting. Many of the example sentences are jokes, and the author sprinkles irony and sarcasm liberally throughout. However, I'm not remarkably familiar with jokes, but even I have heard many of these jokes before. There's little change in the tone or type of humor throughout, and after a while it feels forced and unrelenting--not to mention annoying. The humor also gets in the way of the information. I can deal with the idea that different people enjoy different types of humor, but this third point is unforgivable. There are times when the author says things because they're funny, and because of that amusing phrasing she confuses the reader on one grammar point or another.
There aren't many typos in this book; in any other book I'd have no reason at all to complain about this number of typos. However, it is the unfortunate truth that in a book about grammar, a single mistake can leave someone confused on a grammar issue. There are several places where Rozakis says contradictory things, and it seems clear that this is the result of a slip of the fingers. But because no one caught these bits, the material presented is unclear.
Sometimes Rozakis just plain moves too fast. She'll briefly explain something and then move on when she hasn't yet given enough of an explanation for me to really know what she's talking about. There are some topics she dealt with that I still don't understand. When she brings up big words from previous chapters, she doesn't stop to remind us of what they mean--she just charges onward. This leaves the reader stranded, flipping back and forth to figure out what's going on.
By this time it probably sounds like I hate this book, and you wouldn't be far from the mark in assuming that. I read it from cover to cover and found it tiresome, frustrating, and downright annoying. However, this book does contain a great deal of in-depth grammar information. Most sections include enough examples to teach you what you need to know. Taken in small doses the humor can be fun (in particular, the humor makes the examples of bad writing less headache-inducing). The index is very handy, and there are some good and unusual sections in here on things like non-sexist language, writing "bad news" letters, and putting together an effective resume.
I think this book would probably make a much better reference book than text book. Or perhaps it would work as a text book if you read a chapter now and then, rather than reading it straight through. If you aren't sure whether this is the right book for you, then check it out at the library or thumb through it at the book store.
Everything you need to know about the English Language is right here in front of your eyes If you need to study up on English for whatever reason, this is the book. It's so easy to understand. It covers everything in the English language. It's amazing. I read the entire thing dilligently and I have to say that I've never understood proper English until now. If you want to know more about English -- your search ends here. This is the book. No other book compares. This is where the road ends!
Informal and General Approach The subject of grammar is one that always had me cringing fairly quickly in English and Journalism classes I had in grammar school and again in high school. This is material that more often than not comes off as very dry. And yet grammar is very important in producing clear, concise and quality writing. This book goes a long way in demystifying and explaining the basics of grammar. And it does it in an informal way that makes it easier to grasp all the important concepts of grammar and style.
Every grammatical article, be it noun, verb, dangling participle, or adverb is covered here. Starting off with a basic over view of grammar in the first few chapters, the book then goes on to discuss parts of speech, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, prepositional phrases, clauses, even chapters on proper punctuation and spelling. It does all this in a way that keeps your attention. If only my English teachers way back when could have kept this material interesting.
There's even a section near the book's end about business writing, be it cover letters, resumes, memos or email. This proves how important good clear writing is in the business world as well as everywhere else. And also, this is a book you can refer back to when faced with a "grammar question," since it's also a good "grammar reference" book. If you do a lot of writing, either for business or pleasure this is an excellent book to have around.
Not for ESLs I bought this book and read it, it is interesting however, it includes many jokes inserted in between subjects which I could not understand, that's may be because English is my second language, and I felt that all I am wasting my time reading unnessary jokes which for some people might be funny. If English is your second language, I do not recommend buying it.
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