The Elements of Style [Illustrated]

My new "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, illustrated by Maira Kalman, lies before me now, beside the 1959 edition that I have had since August of that year. Since I hadn't reread the old one in who knows how many years, what induced me to buy a new one? I have always retained affection for Strunk's "little book." Recently I read a review of the new "The Elements of Style Illustrated," and saw a few of the paintings by Maira Kalman. And I heard of the song cycle, based on the book, composed by young Nico Muhly in collaboration with Ms. Kalman and premiered in the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library. The illustrated book sounded like fun, so I ordered it, which prompted me to read Strunk's words again with new appreciation. The overall design of the new book is appealing -- bright red covers, a somewhat larger format (about an inch wider, a half-inch taller, and 156 pages as opposed to 71), the cleaner look of the pages (with more white space and semi-glossy). Both books are hardbacks; I think I would not like the feel of the new one as a paperback. Most striking on the mostly bare, red front cover, is a huge white colon punctuation mark, centered below "THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE." The printing is white (no connection to E. B. White, I'm sure). The word "illustrated" in small gold italic is printed near the lower right. The red back cover is completely bare except for a matching, centered white semicolon. The cover designer, presumably Ms. Kalman or someone she worked closely with, no doubt intended that we follow these magnified punctuation marks: The colon by reading and viewing the book. The semicolon by proceeding to our own independent work. Ms. Kalman's paintings are colorful, mostly full page, some double page, and attractively quirky. Her subject's eyes are intelligent and draw you in. The first double page appears to be of E. B. White, comfortably seated with a book, in a roomful of books -- piled on the tables, stacked on the floor, shelved in bookcases; on another chair, I think I see his dachshund Minnie who won't relinquish her place to more books. At the end of "Elements" are Ms. Kalman's paintings of Strunk, White again, and of herself. Those of you who were introduced to Strunk years ago, in a Diction and Usage class somewhere (say, Ann Arbor), don't need anyone else to tell you of his value and influence. You who have yet to read him, should have confidence in the millions who already have, knowing that his brief remarks about writing will prove clarifying, incisive, and encouraging. Enjoy Maira Kalman's gallery. The book is a thing of intellectual and visual beauty.

Who would believe that Elements of Style by Strunk and White would incude full page, colorful art among pages that advise readers and writers about the active and passive voice, adverbs, nouns, pronouns,independent clauses, as well as excellent advice to writers,such as, "work with nouns and verbs ""do not overwrite," "do not explain too much," and so much more. This classic,that most of us were required to own in high school and/or college, may be delighted to see among these "serious" pages are colorful illustrations by Maira Kalman . I am a published writer and a writing instructor and have had several copies of Elements of Style since my school days and I certainly use it in my writing classes because it is extremey useful, because of its clarity, because the explanations are condensed, and the original version itself is small enough to place in a handbag, tote bag or a pocket. The slim paperback is 71 pages and the new, illustrated paperback is 153 pages, both are available. I have both; the original and when I discovered on Amazon.com that there was a new, illustrated version, I couldn't resist purchasing it; for its festive addition of stylized, colorful illustrations of mountains and trees; figures in brightly colored clothes,fanciful images of rooms of a home (bedroom, living rooms), images of an old fashioned couple on an outside bench. These stylized, playful and brightly colored illustrations, among pages on grammar and effective writing , is a delight to me. And on the cover is an illustration of a long-eared, sad-eyed pooch on a pink background. Perhaps that image was chosen for the cover to let us know that this edition of Elements of Style, is not only educational but also joy-filled and amusing. .And perhaps that pooch is asking you to take him home.

For forty years, writers have been consulting this handy bible to clear away verbiage fog. Look for the name of your problem in the index, and you'll find the number of the page where the distinction between "tortuous" and "torturous" is made in a little over two lines. Lend is the verb, loan the noun. This edition is different from the others. It's illustrated, by artist Maira Kalman, whose dreamlike, impressionistic images reminded me how important a mental picture is to remembering a scene in history, the location of a business, or even a person's name. Her pictures capture what you might see with your mind's eye, or at a passing glance. To depict the construction design necessary for a solid piece of composition, Kalman paints an interior corner covered by door-shaped, geometric outlines. For the possessive indefinite pronoun, use an apostrophe: "Somebody else's umbrella." Kalman's female character, dressed in yellow and standing in front of a dark blue background, turns away from a cherry red umbrella. What I believe you might find particularly helpful are the verbal illustrations and examples. Throughout, the authors use columns: On the left side is what looks like a first stab at a phrase or sentence, loaded with unnecessary words that render it tame and dull. On the right all superfluous words are gone, the result brief and sharp. Left column: Owing to the fact that Right: Since (because) In only 153 pages, "The Elements of Style" gives you immediate access to common usage problems and ways to correct them. I don't see how a writer could work without it.

Why shouldn't the most referred to book in my library have some nice artwork? We learn to write multiple times in our life. We may graduate college and never learn to communicate the ideas that we studied. These rules, that once seemed ominous and stifling in grade school, now are dear friends that guide us toward clarity. Visiting the rules again can stimulate a new found confidence of expression. A fresh look for this classic coincided with my need to communicate to a wider audience. While the illustrations don't add to the explanations, the book feels less judgmental. Maybe the added frill of the artwork reminds us that writing should not simply formulaic. Keep this simple guide within arms reach.

If you attended college, Strunk and White was foisted on you in Freshman English class. it was me, but at the time, I was too unaware of, and too uncaring about writing to pay a lot of attention to it. I actually got back to it twenty-five years later after reading Charlotte's Web to my daughter. Great story, but what impressed me equally was the prose. To me, it's as close to perfect in that respect as a writer can come. So I bounced back to The Elements of Style, co-authored by EB White. Now it read to me less like a text book and more like distilled wisdom. It seems to say to me, "You can't know everything, but you really ought to know this!" Maira Kalman raises this essential book to a new height by her amazing illustrations of Strunk's and White's example sentences. For example, one of the lessons concerns how to group ideas in sentences. The corrected version of "He noticed a large stain in the rug that was right in the center," was "He noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug." Kalman's full page drawing of this sentence has an affluent family relaxing in a formal living room in which, in the center of the rug, there is a dead body lying in a pool of blood-- the large stain. I love this book. It's a great gift for anyone who cares about writing.

English is not my native language. However, I consider my command over written and spoken English as a matter of great pride! Since coming to North America, I have received many a compliments on the same. But again, English is not my native language, and that remains a fact. There are many a tips and tricks that I did not know before I started to read this book. I ordered the book as it was a required text for one of my courses, but never really read it in full. I would pick it up occasionally and randomly select a page and start reading. I was astounded at how the book kept my interest alive each time I did so and would make me feel pressed to go on. Eventually, I decided it was about time, I paid respect to the "little book" and started off at page one. I have learned a lot from this book and recommend it to one and all, but most especially to people who study or work in an environment where English is the preferred language of communication, but whose native language is not English. This book should be read by all such people, regadless of their level of fluency. Trust me you will be smiling all along, either at having learned a neat little tip, or reminiscizing about the many times you have made the blunders that the book warns about!

When my husband was in college, he had a quote from this book on the wall. His roommates thought he was weird, but my husband didn't care, he loved the clever way I think it was a semi-colon was described to be used. So he was very excited when he saw that I had purchased an illustrated version to use in our homeschooling. I admit I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to incorporating it into our lessons. I really like "pretty" versions of books and thumbing through this one is delightful. E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and Trumpet of the Swan, is what drew me to this book over some of the others I might have chosen. Seeing my husband's reaction when he first held it was so rewarding though. What a treasure to have on our bookshelf.

The book itself is in excellent condition. Delightful illustrations. However, the previous owner's (student's)markings in exactly the same ink tones made impossible to determine whether book's editors or user placed the marks, thus making it unusable as a student's guide. If only the markings had been in pencil or another color ink...So my grandson can't use this copy for school, but for an English language lover, it is worth the price. I'll keep it.

Uma versão do famoso livro de Jr Strunk William e E. B. White, com ilustrações da artista Maira Kalman. Como fã da artista, gosto de ver suas ilustrações. Quanto ao texto do livro, é um livro em inglês com dicas de como escrever bem. Acredito que pode ter utilidade a qualquer pessoa interessada no ato de escrever, seja com ênfase na escrita inglesa, ou mesmo em português, já que várias regras valem também para a nossa língua.

I orded this as a gift for a friend. I remember fondly when I bought my own copy. I was in San Francisco and I was in love with the place. The air was so light and the light was so airy; the town's got its flaws but I was blind to them, riding the trolley bus, visiting the palace of fine arts, and then I found myself strolling along the harbour and I popped into a book shop aimlessly. I was struck by a small hardback book covered in a bright red fabric (note I'm reviewing the softback). So I am fickle and judged the book by its cover. It happens. It turns out that it's about WRITING style! Ha! So I sat on the jetty with my legs dangling over the water and the bridge from Oakland in the distance. And my life was quite literally transformed. I studied engineering at university and was never formally educated in writing style. This book laid out the rules with inimmitable lucidity. It's a small book, with limited words per page accompanied by lovely pictures. Yet it packs more in that space than you might imagine. Of course, that's the whole message in the book ... omit needless words! My emails became shorter yet clearer, my writing improved in general; and I became a bit of a fussy reader! In general I was given the tools for the job (I didn't actually know what a semi-colon was before this!). I mentioned it to the friend I was visiting in San Fran. 'Oh yeh, we all get recommended that at Columbia'. It turns out this is an absolute classic. I totes agree!

The book explains the rules of good writing in lucid yet succinct language. A must-have for any person who wishes to improve their writing.

Excellent product. Bad packaging. Torn book corner.

もはや英作文の古典的名著となっている本に、美しいイラストがついて新しい魅力が加わっている。 文章そのものがどちらかというと、少し古くて堅苦しいので、絵本作家によるイラストは、現代的なテイストを与えてくれている。 すでに１册イラストなしの版を持っていたけれど、この本を再購入して成功だった。 部屋の書棚の見えるところに置いて、時折開いては、文章とイラストを見比べて楽しいでいる。 これからこの本を購入しようとしている人にも是非おすすめしたい一册。