Modern American Usage: A Guide
by Wilson Follett, Jacques Barzun (Editor)
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Description
Now fully revised and brought up-to-date, this one-volume course in good writing brims with helpful answers - large and small - for readers who want to use English clearly, naturally, and correctly. Alphabetical for easy consulting (and full of cross-references), the book carries the reader to the entry that explains a troublesome word or phrase - and shows how to use or avoid it; no time lost in wondering whether the problem is one of grammar, syntax, or style. Every page offers natural show more ways to avoid saying or writing the vague, the long-winded, the needlessly technical, and the hopelessly stale. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
The classic American answer to Fowler, first published in 1966 (three years after Follett died: the manuscript was completed by Barzun) and updated and revised in 1998. Like Fowler's, this book focuses on the usage of individual words, arranged in alphabetical order, but also discusses broader topics. Very helpful as a reference, and delightful browsing. It is fiercely prescriptive in tone, but then that is what a usage guide is supposed to be.
Paperbook, not hard coer
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Author Information
4+ Works 520 Members
Jacques Barzun was born in Créteil, France on November 30, 1907. He came to the United States in 1920 and graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University in 1927. Following graduation, he joined Columbia's faculty as an instructor while continuing his studies in graduate school there, receiving a master's degree in 1928 and a doctorate in show more French history in 1932. He became a full professor in 1945, was dean of graduate faculties from 1955 to 1958, and dean of faculties from 1958 to 1967. He retired from Columbia University in 1975. He was a historian and cultural critic. The core of his work was the importance of studying history to understand the present and a fundamental respect for intellect. Although he wrote on subjects as diverse as detective fiction and baseball, he was especially known for his many books on music, nineteenth-century romanticism and education. His works include Darwin, Marx and Wagner: Critique of a Heritage; Romanticism and the Modern Ego; The House of Intellect; Race: A Study in Superstition; Simple and Direct: A Rhetoric for Writers; A Stroll with William James; The Culture We Deserve; and From Dawn to Decadence. He died on October 25, 2012 at the age of 104. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1966
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 512
- Popularity
- 58,349
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.04)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 12
