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Product Description
Product Description
BUGS in Writing, written with verve and wit, may be the first book on writing that people read for sheer fun. Designed for easy browsing, it comprises 150 independent and easily digestible segments. BUGS was developed for anyone who writes and who works with computers, including computer and other scientists, students, professors, business people, programmers, and technical writers.
From the Back Cover
"How often does a book come along that has you laughing out loud as it improves your writing, especially of technical and scientific material? How often does a book on writing come out aimed at scientists, mathematicians, and computer specialists in the first place? How often does a book on grammar keep you turning the pages from pleasure? Never, you say? Then get this one."
Jef Raskinprofessional writer and creator of the Apple Macintosh project
"As someone responsible for the creation of numerous bugs, literary and otherwise, I heartily recommend Lyn Dupré's exquisite book: a lucid guide to squishing bugs or, even better, exterminating them before they hatch."
David C. NagelPresident, AT&T Labs
"You can borrow my dictionary or steal my thesaurus. Just stay away from my copy of BUGS."
Patrick Henry WinstonMassachusetts Institute of Technology
"The quality of scientific and technical writing would increase considerably if this book were required reading for all authors."
The Mathematica Journal"Lyn's style is wonderful: humorous, enjoyable, and incisive. I even liked the plot."
Peter G. Neumannauthor of the Dupréved Computer-Related Risks
"Those of us who have worked with Lyn Dupré treasure her keen wit, and, above all, her absolute mastery of writing."
Carver MeadCalifornia Institute of Technology
"BUGS in Writing deserves to become a standard. If technical writing isn't your principal activity, but you find yourself doing a lot of it, you should read this book."
IEEE Micro"This book will help me/you/we a lot/immensely."
Martin GrissLaboratory Scientist and Reuse Rabbi, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
"Lyn combines an intellectual command of her subject with a madcap imagination to take you on a joyous romp through the English language."
Abraham SilberschatzLucent Technologies
"I just received a copy of BUGS in Writing, which I think is wonderful. (Reading this sentence again, I realize it is ambiguous; but both its interpretations are true. It is also passive, but since the package was waiting for me when I returned from a trip, it is hard to know just who brought it.)...BUGS will certainly be at my fingertips during the final rewrites.
Andrew Koenigauthor of C Traps and Pitfalls and coauthor of Ruminations on C++
"I highly recommend BUGS in Writing, by Dupré. It makes an excellent companion to Strunk & White and the Harbrace College Handbook."
Martin D. Carrollcoauthor of Designing and Coding Reusable C++
A "superior" alternative to Strunk and White.
Computing Reviews"This book simply sneaks up like a cat and charms you."
Kitta ReedsSRI International
"Having the examples weave their own story is an outstanding device. Our brains must be wired for learning from stories."
Bruce R. MontagueUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
"Ultimately, it is the playfulness and humor of the author that encourages me to keep this book on my working shelf. I wish I'd had Lyn Dupré as my fifth-grade English teacher."
ANPA West Journal"An earful of bugs that will learn you right from wrong."
Dick Lyonhearing researcher, Caltech, and Senior Scientist, Foveonics, Inc.
"It's hard to describe how easy it is to read this book, except to say that it's the first style book that I have ever read entirely, and for pleasure."
Ellen Levy FinchExpert Support, Inc.
"An indispensible 'bible' for those who believe that clarity and good writing are the key to conveying any message effectively."
Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhDProfessor and Associate Dean, Stanford University
"Even my cats seemed to like the book."
Denbigh StarkeyMontana State University Like a deft and brilliant surgeon Lyn takes your mangled manuscript And dexterously cuts away Those dangling participles Those split infinitives Those fatty adjectives And returns to you An (almost) perfect body Of your work (Marred by only a few Feline paw prints). Lightning quick of mind Motion sure and filled with grace Weapon poised With sharp and blackened point She pounces! Leaps upon her prey! Death to the fractured words The split infinitive The dangling participle! The body stirs at last Returns to life Strengthened, renewed, And ready for The publisher. oTrish Hooper
020137921XB04062001
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Customer Reviews
And if you don't wonder, browsing this book will give you enough info to *start* wondering if you have been doing things wrong for some time.
END
HITS:
1) Informal, nonstuffy feel.
2) Covers a lot of material.
3) Has lots of examples.
4) Does a good job of showing the dynamic and subjective nature of English writing.
5) It is one of the very few style and grammar books that I've read that lends itself to being read like a book of short stories: sit on the john and make yourself a better writer. Now, THAT'S innovative.
MISSES:
1) MUCH physically bigger than it needs to be; thus, it is hard to use as a quick reference. The typeface is too big, but most importantly it is full of completely useless tangential photos. There are between 100 and 200 photos that, while cute, have no place it this book. Some reviewers seem to like this. I find it unprofessional. Would you enjoy paying extra money for a book to look at a stranger's family album? Think of the natural resources wasted on this silliness. If the author wants to write a picture book of her cats, that's fine, but she should market it to people whom get some benefit from it; I submit those people are an extreme minority in the readership of this book.
2) Does not use direct counter examples. So, instead of seeing an example bad sentence corrected, you see a different sentence done right. The author defends this as helping to develop "ear." I usually find it more annoying than helpful.
3) Does not cite sources of her opinions, and therefore it is very hard to take anything this book says as the final word. To be fair, she does warn that it is often just her opinion and not rock-solid fact. Differentiating them is the problem. This shortcomming results in you having to look items up in another book to make sure before you commit something to paper. Need an example? She states that ending a sentence with a preposition is drop-dead wrong. It is not; it is very debatable. I found several more scholarly books that state that is simply not true anymore, if it ever was. One book made an excellent case that this belief is a prejudice stemming from Latin grammar.
4) It's hard to find items in the book. The "Index of Principles" is okay but should probably be called something else and placed in the front of the book. There is no regular index.
5) The cover is butt ugly.
6) The book cover suggests that the book should be filed under General Computing. Now that's insulting. What's this about; do you have to trick technical types into writing better? "Gosh, I was looking for a Java book, and I stumbled on this Bugs book. Now I write much better."
Should you buy this book? I have no idea. Do you like cats?
Though the book targets those working with computers, it has a lot to say to anyone wanting to improve their ability to write prose.
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