Review of Garner's Modern American Usage (Hardcover)

For three generations, a single book dominated the market as the authoritative reference in matters of grammar, style, and usage in the English language: "A Dictionary of Modern English Usage" by H.W. Fowler, first published in 1926, ably revised by Sir Ernest Gowers in 1965, and now in its third edition (published 1996). But by the century's last quarter, the modern English language -- particularly its American dialect -- had begun outgrowing Fowler, and several newer guides began competing with it. The third (1996) edition of Fowler was a disappointment, and left the field without a clear leading authority.

That gap was filled in 1998, when Bryan A. Garner wrote "A Dictionary of Modern American Usage" (published by the Oxford University Press, which also published Fowler). Finally, someone had written a book that matched Fowler -- not only in its erudition, but also in its accessible style, and even its wry sense of humor. And Garner's book had the advantages of being written both in modern times for a modern audience, and in the United States by an American author about American English. The book is a gem, and as authoritative a reference as you will find in this field in the last several decades (and probably the next several too).

"Garner's Modern American Usage" is this oustanding work's second edition, now retitled after its author in view of the acclaim that the first edition earned. A new edition is appearing after only five years because, as Garner explains, "changing usage isn't really the primary basis for a new edition of a usage guide: it's really a question of having had five more years for research." The payoff shows. And the second edition builds upon the first: the first edition was a dictionary of words in usage, rather than words about usage, and therefore assumed that the reader possessed a certain working knowledge of basic grammatical terms and concepts. For example, the first edition didn't define such basic terms as "sentence," "phrase," "clause," "word," or "part of speech." The second edition appends a glossary that defines many such basic concepts. It also appends, as did the first edition, an 11-page chronology of books about usage, which illustrates both the rich tradition that Garner's work joins, as well as the tremendous resources upon which he drew in producing this magnum opus.



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Review of Black's Law Dictionary 7th Edition (Hardcover)

I have to preface my review with a caveat: Black's is indispensible and if you're reading this, you need it.Also, I haven't looked through it extensively and so don't purport to rate this edition over the last one, just this deluxe version.

Having said that, I can't recommend this particular version with cheap-ish vinyl/leatherette cover and thumb indexing.

I just bought this deluxe version a few days ago for my sister who is going to enter law school in the fall.I decided that though the regular 7th version has served me well, she deserves the best.While this is surely the best, it is certainly not worth $40+ more than the regular version.

I feel like this $100 book will look like a pretty weak stand-alone present for her now that I've taken a close look at it; it's just a little underwhelming.

The cover, whatever it is, looks a little cheap and scratches and indents very easily.It already looks used and did not come sealed.

The binding and overall workmanship seems to be on par with the regular edition I looked at (and the one I own), which is to say mediocre.

The thumb indexing is a plus, and I guess that some people could desire that option enough to warrant the higher price.

Also, the paper is of noticeably higher quality, more like a nice library quality Webster's than a regular book.But I never noticed that the paper in my previous edition was lacking until Barrister Books told me.

The only other noteworthy thing about this particular version is the double take the cashier did when the price came up.

Really, I don't think you can justify that jump in price, if they could do something special for an additional $40-50 (i.e. leather, better binding, jewel encrusted carrying case) it would be worth looking into.There is a deluxe edition in a slipcase for $30 more, but there is no picture of it online and my school's bookstore didn't stock it and I'm sure it is the same book otherwise.

Al in all, a great reference with amarginal upgrade.



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Review of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (Hardcover)

This is an amazing book! I use it every single time that I edit anything, and this is one book I don't mind carrying with me to clients' sites. Garner's book has extensive coverage of most aspects of our language,broken down by individual words and phrases; his thorough cross-referencinghelps the user successfully navigate throughout the entire book. Garnerprovides numerous examples of correct and incorrect usage of every wordcovered, and for each incorrect usage, he provides a suggested revision. Ifmore than one variation of a word usage or phrase is possible (e.g.,"different from" vs. "different than"), Garner tells the reader which termor phrase is used more frequently (or is more preferable) under whichcircumstances. It is so refreshing to see a book that provides so manyrewrites instead of just criticizing poor word usage/style; the rewritesalone provide invaluable assistance to the writer and editor alike. To topif off, Garner's writing style is humorous, friendly, and quiteapproachable-not a hint of arrogance or condescension. Garner's upbeat,helpful attitude, along with his citing of many examples of venerablepublications/authors erring in some way, makes it very difficult to feelbad about not knowing the proper usage of some word or phrase. My onlycriticism of his book is that he doesn't cover every single word or phrasethat vexes me-but this is a minor "nit" and doesn't occur often enough todeter me from using his book on a daily basis and recommending his book toall my colleagues.



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