Pinckert's Practical Grammar: A Lively, Unintimidating Guide to Usage, Punctuation and Style
In eight pithy "lessons" the author playfully assails such topics as the parts of speech, composition, and arguing a point of view. A basic assumption is that use of good English is a sort of one-upmanship or competitive game. Not really "practical," it suffers from an overload of curt, peremptory sentences that make it a labor to follow. It offers too little detail and exposition for an adequate text or treatise. Still, the many clever, thought-provoking observations and pronouncements might please language-minded readers who enjoyed books like Karen Gordon's The Transitive Vampire ( LJ 1/84) or Stephen White's The Written Word ( LJ 6/16/84). Not a necessary purchase. William A. Donovan, Chicago P.L.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.