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Eats, Shoots and Leaves [Paperback]

Lynne Truss (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (262 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 1 Oct 2009

Anxious about the apostrophe? Confused by the comma? Stumped by the semicolon? Join Lynne Truss on a hilarious tour through the rules of punctuation that is sure to sort the dashes from the hyphens.

We all had the basic rules of punctuation drilled into us at school, but punctuation pedants have good reason to suspect they never sank in. ‘Its Summer!’ screams a sign that sets our teeth on edge. ‘Pansy’s ready’, we learn to our considerable interest (‘Is she?’) as we browse among the bedding plants.

It is not only the rules of punctuation that have come under attack but also a sense of why they matter. In this runaway bestseller, Lynne Truss takes the fight to emoticons and greengrocers’ apostrophes with a war cry of ‘Sticklers unite!’

Frequently Bought Together

Eats, Shoots and Leaves + My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be 'Me'?): Old-School Ways to Sharpen Your English + Can You Eat, Shoot & Leave? (Workbook)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 244 pages
  • Publisher: Fourth Estate (1 Oct 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007329067
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007329069
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (262 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Lynne Truss
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Product Description

Review

‘A punctuation repair kit. Passionate and witty…fresh and funny.’ Independent

‘If Lynne Truss were Roman Catholic I’d nominate her for sainthood.’ Frank McCourt

‘I laughed, I howled, and I immediately wanted to join the militant wing of the Apostrophe Society. This is great stuff: genuine, heartfelt and rousing.’ Jenny Colgan

‘Enchanting, full of jokes and anecdotes and information. It makes you love punctuation; you want to conserve what is left and perhaps call for more of it.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘It can only be a matter of time before the government seizes the chance to appoint [Truss] minister for punctuation. The manifesto is already written.’ Guardian

‘Truss deserves to be piled high with honours.’ John Humphrys, Sunday Times

‘Worth its weight in gold.’ Independent

From the Publisher

Now out in paperback with a free Punctuation Repair Kit in every copy. Sticklers, please use your stickers responsibly, correctly and legally. This international bestseller, with over three million copies sold worldwide, is fast becoming a modern classic. Eats Shoots & Leaves can be read as a tale from beginning to end and used as a reference guide in moments of confusion. Be prepared to laugh out loud. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 56 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book for the pedant in your life! 4 July 2007
By Mr. P. G. Smith
Format:Paperback
I highly recommend this book IF you have an interest in the english language, its punctuation, the development and abuse of said. This book is accessible, very funny, and well written. Lynne obviously cares about her subject and actually had a long-running national newspaper column on punctuation and its abuse.
If you are regularly infuriated by the greengrocer's apostrophe (carrot's, apple's, etc.) or wonder who invented the question mark (these things don't just turn up out of the blue, you know) then this is the book for you.
Buy it. Read it. Read it again. Bore everyone you know to tears with it. I did!
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Entertaining 8 Aug 2004
By Westley
Format:Hardcover
"Eats, Shoots & Leaves" is not a grammar guide per se, as it doesn't really teach the basics of punctuation. Instead, it's a grammarians dream come true - an enjoyable and illuminating discussion of the history and importance of punctuation (Hmmmm, did I use that dash correctly?). Lovers of punctuation have been decrying the use of "netspeak" with no or minimal punctuation. Accordingly, Truss wrote this engaging book with the rallying cry: "Sticklers unite!" However, Truss does not simply attack the web; indeed, she asserts that text messaging and email have made reading more important than it has been of late. However, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, "It's the punctuation stupid!"

Truss's dry British wit (e.g., talking about wanting to marry the inventor of the colon) is used to great effect in her writing. And amusing vignettes are peppered through the text, including the introduction of the "interrobang" as well as the spread of the "Strukenwhite" virus. She even manages to make punctuation seem, well, sexy. If you've ever found yourself in a spirited debate about the Oxford comma (i.e., the second comma in the phrase "red, white, and blue"), then you'll likely enjoy this book.

Some reviewers have asserted that American readers may be a bit lost; however, Truss is careful about pointing out American versus British punctuation uses. I was never confused. Overall, this book is delightful - most highly recommended.

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62 of 64 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Informative and mildly entertaining 4 April 2005
By Mr. S. Foster
Format:Hardcover
Punctuation is rather like taxation law - it's a dry old subject but if you don't understand it you can't use it to your advantage. Having left a rather unimpressive comprehensive school at the age of 15, I relished the chance of receiving some, albeit late, tuition in punctuation. And I got it, courtesy of Lynne Truss. OK, professional journalists, English scholars and the like may scoff. They take such skills for granted whilst forgetting that some of us are educationally disadvantaged in this respect.

Although entirely comfortable with apostrophes, I was never really sure on which occasions to use a colon or a semi-colon. I liberally use dashes in my texts as alternatives to commas - but was uncertain whether this was permissible. I now know that it is. Furthermore, I am finally able to appreciate the importance of hyphenation to avoid ambiguity. Thanks, Lynne!

The book was also mildly entertaining but I can't honestly say that I was unable to put it down - especially if there was something more enthralling on the telly. Glad I read it, though.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Eats Shoots and Leaves
Written for easy reading. Basic rules of punctuation explained in a clear manner. An entertaining and informative book you can read in a couple of hours.
Published 10 days ago by johanna
5.0 out of 5 stars Eats, shoots and leaves
Loved this book as it is so comical. Bought as a Christmas present for a relative. Very unusual and different.
Published 11 days ago by bullfinch
5.0 out of 5 stars GRAMMAR AT ITS BEST
A seminal discourse on the modern state-of-play regarding English usage. Highly amusing and outrageous in parts; a great resource for all ages..
Published 18 days ago by natalie
5.0 out of 5 stars Bought as a present
I have had good reviews of the content of the book so I bought it for a friend, she loves it, maybe I will read it too!
Published 2 months ago by Lima
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, and this has really helped my poor punctuation skills.
Lynne Truss has written a book that is interesting, funny and very witty. But above all, I have learnt a great deal about personal tastes when it comes to the colon and semicolon. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Emma Burge
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Popular with the recipient. Excellent service from purchasers point of view. Only negative is the number of words required in this survey.
Published 2 months ago by Jane Ward-Booth
3.0 out of 5 stars Marked copy.
It was a used copy. It provided me with the information I wanted, but the previous owner had highlighted passages with a yellow marker pen.
Published 2 months ago by Richard
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
This book is both amusing and informative, being an English teacher with an interest I had to buy it. Makes the commute to Manchester easier.
Published 2 months ago by kelly kels
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, fun to read
This book has a lot of information about how to use common punctuation marks, as well as their history. It is also quite laugh-out-loud amusing to read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Soirse
5.0 out of 5 stars really funny
Check your grammar! You will laugh your head off and learn something as well.. Go for it! Laugh and learn
Published 2 months ago by Ms Elizabeth M Lewis
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