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Fasten your seat belt for a crash course in careful usage.... Just like automobile accidents, accidents of style occur all over the English-speaking world, in print and on the Internet, thousands of times every day. They range from minor fender benders, such as confusing their and there, to serious smashups, such as misusing sensual for sensuous or writing loathe when you mean loath.
Charles Harrington Elster shows you how to navigate the hairpin turns of grammar, diction, spelling, and punctuation with an entertaining driver's manual covering 350 common word hazards and infractions, arranged in order of complexity for writers of all levels. Elster illustrates these surprisingly common accidents with quotations from numerous print and online publications, many of them highly regarded---which perhaps should make us feel better: If the horrendous redundancy close proximity and the odious construction what it is, is have appeared in The New York Times, maybe our own accidents will be forgiven. But that shouldn't keep us from aspiring to accident-free writing and speaking.
If you want to get on the road to writing well, The Accidents of Style will help you drive home what you want to say.
- Sales Rank: #696240 in Books
- Published on: 2010-07-20
- Released on: 2010-07-20
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .68" w x 5.50" l, .61 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 304 pages
From Booklist
Language expert Elster, the author of What in the Word? (2005), among many other titles, returns to the scene with this guide to common writing mistakes. Comparing auto crashes to accidents of style, Elster aims to make writers “wreckless” by providing a “crash course” in careful usage. The 350 mistakes he cites, which he labels “accidents,” run the gamut from traditional grammatical errors (when to use who and whom) to common mistakes (confusion between i.e. and e.g.) to welcome advice (avoid please be advised that, especially at the beginning of a letter). Although Elster tends to run his automotive metaphors into the ground, his explanations of usage errors are clear and frequently entertaining (see there is no ex- in espresso). Because the entries are not arranged alphabetically, the guide seems best suited to browsers, although destination-oriented language seekers can use the index to track solutions. Sensible advice for both aspiring writers and word lovers. --Joanne Wilkinson
Review
“Charles Elster shines a bright light on 350 major potholes, pitfalls, and pratfalls that pock the road of writing. His sage advice on how to avoid writing badly points the reader in the direction of a smoother journey toward writing well.” ―Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English and The Write Way
“This book is perfect for people who want to take their prose from the pothole-filled side streets to the Autobahn. You'll learn how to avoid errors, barbarisms, redundancies, and other drags on your style. It's an essential addition to any language lover's collection. After I read it, I felt like I'd just had my writing engines tuned by a master mechanic. The Accidents of Style is essential for anyone who's serious about the written word.” ―Martha Brockenbrough, author of Things That Make Us (Sic)
“The Accidents of Style is eminently readable. And if you're one of us who can't always remember the difference between eminently and imminently--and more than 350 other thorny usage questions--you'll want to buy it and keep it near. It is useful, nuanced--and funny, too.” ―Constance Hale, author of Sin and Syntax
About the Author
Charles Harrington Elster is a nationally recognized authority on language. He is the orthoepist for Wordnik.com and the author of Verbal Advantage and many other books. His articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Boston Globe, and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in San Diego, California.
Most helpful customer reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Entertaining, Sound Advice
By customer
I found The Accidents of Style: Good Advice on How Not to Write Badly to be enjoyable and educational at the same time. That's not easy when you're writing about style.
WHAT'S INSIDE?
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The book is a collection of 350 mini essays on "accidents" (mistakes) that are often made when writing. Entries are mostly one or two paragraphs long. Read one paragraph a night before bed and be done in a year, or bring it to the beach and be done in an hour or two.
THE GOOD
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I like the examples of poor writing, because they are often taken from actual usage by professional writers (usually those working at newspapers and television). At least I am in good company!
A lot (see Accident #4 for a discussion of why it is not alot) of the advice is helpful and just what I wanted to find in the book. I am especially prone to Accident #320 (putting the adverb before compound verbs), and I appreciated the clear explanation.
It's fun to read. The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition is a wonderful classic, but you have to admit that it is not a page turner!
The bibliography is a handy list of some great books on style. Conspicuously absent, though, were works by Karen Elizabeth Gordon :(
THE NOT SO GOOD
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As far as I can tell, the accidents are not organized. The author says they increase in complexity, but it doesn't appear that way to me. Within just a few pages they vary widely from simple fender benders to full-blown catastrophes. Accidents #22 (intact vs. in tack) and #231 (no tendon in tendinitis) seem like pretty minor spelling mistakes to me. I feel that accident #241 (comprise does not mean "make up"), though, is actually a fairly tricky one that thankfully goes beyond the obligatory style-guide discussion of "comprise" and "compose."
SUMMARY
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Inevitably, there are going to be places you find really useful in a style book, and others that you already know very well. We are all prone to different accidents. Fortunately, the author writes well-enough that you'll enjoy all of the content.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
A Useful New Language Resource
By Don Hauptman
Given the depressed state of literacy, the appearance of an excellent new guide to grammar, style, and usage is an occasion for rejoicing.
The Accidents of Style by Charles Harrington Elster is a volume every writer should have at hand. It will help you polish your prose, express your ideas more clearly, and avoid numerous errors.
The title is a clever play on Strunk and White's classic The Elements of Style. But although that 51-year-old reference book is still helpful, Accidents goes well beyond it, with 350 wry and well-reasoned essays on topics that duo probably didn't need to consider half a century ago.
"Accidents of style" are common mistakes, and Elster has fun with the metaphor: "This book shows you how to steer around the ruts and potholes.... It's a crash course in careful usage."
Elster is an authority on the English language. He has written books on, among other things, vocabulary building and pronunciation. He's a purist and prescriptivist who also recognizes that the rules occasionally need revising and updating.
If you recall boring grammar lessons from your school days, fear not. Elster is an entertaining writer and he festoons his book with mischievous observations and asides.
The book discusses commonly abused words and expressions such as impact and issues, how to use kudos properly, the voguish and ill-advised use of the opening "Let me see," and the excessive and awkward use of adverbs, which the author dubs "adverbiage." Elster's puckish and sometimes barbed approach is evident in these and other entries.
The Accidents of Style offers much more: Advice on the proper use of punctuation (apostrophes, commas, quotation marks) and spelling (it's espresso, not expresso and supersede, not supercede), and guidance on avoiding redundancies (close proximity, fellow colleagues), "confusables" (anxious vs. eager, emulate vs. imitate, flaunt vs. flout), and clichés and slang (at the end of the day, on the same page). In addition, the book contains quizzes to test your knowledge, tips to improve your writing, and even funny bloopers.
Unlike most other language guides, the structure of Accidents isn't alphabetical by subject. Instead, the entries begin with simple matters, then become progressively more complex. The index will help you find what you're looking for. The book can be used either as a reference or read straight through. Both routes will prove rewarding.
My one complaint is that Elster occasionally comes across as a bit of a curmudgeon, deriding those who don't do things in his approved way. But considering how permissive most dictionaries and language authorities have become, a martinet may be just what we need to restore some balance. I learned a lot from The Accidents of Style. You will, too.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
An extremely unique book
By Amazon Customer
As a teacher who is strict about my students' writing styles, I find this book to be supportive, informative, and entertaining. I gave an example of one of the major "accidents" discussed in my title. By definition, something that is "unique" stands alone. Either it is unique or it isn't. It can not be "extremely unique." In addition, I have overdone the use of "quotation marks." Sorry about that!
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