- Paperback: 232 pages
- Publisher: Profile Books; New edition edition (24 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1861976771
- ISBN-13: 978-1861976772
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.6 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 52,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
'If Lynne Truss were Roman Catholic I'd nominate her for sainthood' Frank McCourt 'This book will stimulate and satisfy. It's worth its weight in gold.' Boyd Tonkin, Independent 'A witty, elegant and passionate book that should be on every writer's shelf' Observer 'Lynne Truss deserves to be piled high with honours ...' John Humphrys 'It can only be a matter of time before the new government seizes the chance to appoint her as minister for punctuation. The manifesto is already written. Guardian 'She's a soul sister. She's one of us.' Richard Madeley, Richard and Judy
Product Description
The international bestseller - at last in paperback and with a new introduction. A witty, entertaining, impassioned guide to perfect punctuation, for everyone who cares about precise writing. When social histories come to be written of the first decade of the 21st century, people will note a turning point in 2003 when declining standards of punctuation were reversed. Linguists will record Lynne Truss as the saviour of the semi-colon and the avenging angel of the apostrophe. 'If Lynne Truss were Roman Catholic I'd nominate her for sainthood' Frank McCourt 'This book will stimulate and satisfy. It's worth its weight in gold.' Boyd Tonkin, Independent 'A witty, elegant and passionate book that should be on every writer's shelf' Observer 'Lynne Truss deserves to be piled high with honours ...' John Humphrys 'It can only be a matter of time before the new government seizes the chance to appoint her as minister for punctuation. The manifesto is already written.' Guardian 'She's a soul sister. She's one of us.' Richard Madeley, Richard and Judy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious, entertaining and educational at the same time,
By
This review is from: Eats Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Paperback)
A panda enters a restaurant, orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air. The reason: according to the wildlife manual that he carries he is supposed to behave this way: a panda "eats, shoots and leaves". How one comma too many can change the life of a peaceful animal like a panda... This hilarious "zero-tolerance guide to punctuation" not only explores why people have problems with punctuation, but also explains in a thought-provoking way how punctuation should be used and what the role(s) of the different punctuation signs sare in helping people to understand the text before them. And not only such well-known signs as the apostrophe (a sign on an American restaurant stating "nigger's out" is NOT the same as "niggers out"), the period and the comma are discussed; the semicolon, the hyphen and the ellipsis are explained as well, with examples that make you snigger and read on. And I have probably made a zillion mistakes in the punctuation of the previous few sentences, but I still have the feeling that the book helped me (as a non-native speaker) to better how and when to use punctuation when writing English.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very clever, but not as wonderful as some believe,
By
This review is from: Eats Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Paperback)
I have huge admiration for Lynne Truss and for what she has accomplished with this book. She has provoked a debate about the written English language which will serve it well, and has stimulated many thousands of people to actually care about what they are writing and how they are writing it.I expected to love the book, but was surprised by how difficult it was to enjoy. The problem is not in the meat of the book, the middle section, which is all about the history, evolution and use of popular punctuation. That's the best bit of it and is thoroughly informative and good reading. The opening chapters are the major issue; Lynne hectors and rants and has a good old moan about how awful everything is. Frankly, it's hard going even if you are a perfect punctuator. For someone who has learned a little grammar the hard way, by picking it up as I go along and by figuring out the rules from well-written examples, I found it all rather oppressive. 15 years ago I was one of those people who didn't know where on earth to put an apostrophe, and it was hard not to feel vaguely insulted and rather embarrassed by the opening section's torrent of scorn and outrage. If you persevere then you'll be rewarded by the middle sections which are much more fun, more fact-based, and as a result are more educational. The end, again, slithers back into a rant against modern communication and a gloomy, miserable outlook that we're all doomed, laddy, to use emoticons and thus forsake the elegance of language itself. Lynne says that this is not a textbook, nor a grammatical guide, and she recommends several other books for people who really want to know more about the hard rules (and soft rules) of written English. "Eats, Shoots and Leaves..." is not such a book. It's an entertainment. It's probably most rewarding for those folk who enjoyed a "proper" education and who can smugly agree with every word Lynne says (probably without having to put those rules into practise very often). For anyone who has experienced an education in the UK's comprehensive system in the last 25 years, this isn't a particularly helpful or inspiring volume. Try something like the Sunday Times "Wordpower" guide instead; which is full of concise information and which isn't full of judgmental comment. Must try harder?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For Punctuation Vigilantes,
By
This review is from: Eats Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Paperback)
'This book gives you permission love punctuation' says Lynne Truss in the Introduction, and that just about sums it up. If you value clarity of expression, you will enjoy this. If you are already a punctuation expert then you will undoubtedly share the author's frustration with the ghastly errors that seem to be so commonplace these days. If you know that you need a little bit of help in placing your commas, aspostrophes, semi-colons and colons, then the basic rules are here, and clearly explained. The light-hearted narrative makes the whole thing an easy and entertaining read, and it's much more than just a Grumpy Old Woman-type rant because it actually presents the solution rather than just moaning. So get punctuating!
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