Rating: 
Summary: Laugh while you learn
Review: There are many, many punctuation and grammar guides on the market. People hungry for knowledge should read several - including this one. There's nothing wrong with being entertained while learning! It's amazing - and wonderful - that a book on punctuation has caught the attention of so many. It's also amusing to note that virtually all of the Amazon readers who excoriated the book wrote comments replete with grammar and punctuation errors. Disdain the book if you must, but do at least read it first.
Rating:
Summary: FUN AMONG THE COMMAS
Review: I am a stickler, also one who has delighted in collecting apostrophe atrocities [such as COON DOG'S FOR SALE], so I liked this book. I think it will appeal mainly to the choir to whom she is preaching, we who read it for reassurance as we glumly watch our language always sinking to the lowest common denominator, and then get told that such sinking is right and proper because that is the way usage is going.
Ms Truss makes all this fun and zippy. There are few who champion sticklers; it is good to know one is not alone.
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Summary: Punctuation huh.....
Review: What can I say about this one? It was a good beach read. Someone is desperate and the price for my book just went up. Reading this one and the other one in april was painful. Of coarse you never saw that, you were only looking at a "One Eyed Jack" I have probably already said more than I should about this book. Friends are good, and with the right punctuation you too can become a more effective writer. P.S. having powerful friends does not hurt either.
Rating:
Summary: Why read a punctuation book if you're finished with school?
Review: What can I say about this one? I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. Perhaps a book about punctuation sounds dry and boring to you. If so, this is not the book you envision. It has humor, history, usage, misuage (often hysterically funny), and a prescription for moving forward with punctuation as your friend. Truss admits to being a grammarian and a stickler for correct punctuation usage but she's not so out of the real world as to suggest that we never change. True, she laments some of the changes that seem to be occurring, often because they obscure the intended meaning of the sentence, but she is flexible enough to embrace language and its punctuation as a sort of organic being, offering passages properly punctuated by their authors during their times and what those same passages would properly look like today. I was pleased to note, as I read through this, that I generally do a respectable job punctuating (all bets are off in my e-mails, incidentally) and that I knew most of the rules. And perhaps that's why I emjoyed the book; the sense of recognition kept me nodding my head and saying, "Of course!" through so much of it. Validation is always good, especially concerning quirks your family and friends find a bit odd! I'd highly recommend this although I suspect that the people who would most benefit from reading it won't even register the title on their radar should they happen to walk past it on their way to the days "Special's and Bargain's."
Rating: 
Summary: Eats, Shoots, and Hits!
Review: Grammar, spelling and punctuation are very important when articulating one's self liguistically, especially if you are writing e-zines, or articles for online or print publication. Presentation is everything in this capcity.Lynn Truss has given us a great offering in this fare. Depending on culture and different locales, the meanings of words can vary, and every writer ought to know their audience and would do well to ensure that the message is culture-appropriate, with grammar and punctuation that is above reproach. Reviewed by: P. Brook
Rating:
Summary: Best Birthday Present of the Year
Review: My sister gave this to me for my birthday. I have been living under a rock, so I had not yet heard of this book. When I opened it, I said, "Wow. A book about punctuation. Thanks, Ashley." I thought it was one of those gifts people give English grads, because they've run out of other ideas. My mom quickly jumped in and said, "No, I've heard it's supposed to be really good." I gave it a chance, and aside from the less than stellar Frank McCourt intro, I fell in love with the book. Previous to this, I would have laughed at the idea of a funny and interesting book about punctuation. I find that I am unable to stop thanking my sister, and I will probably be giving this book as a gift to all my friends. They will read it and like it.
Rating:
Summary: Stickler's Unite!
Review: Lynne Truss has written a marvelously entertaining book in "Eats, Shoots & Leaves-The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation." She tells us that punctuation marks are the traffic
signals of language. Lynne Truss believes that she was born with a seventh-sense. She is a "stickler" for proper punctuation. Most of us are happily equipped to live in a world of plummeting punctutation standards. We would be the ones to whisper to ourselves, "Oh, get a life!" Lynne Truss believes it is her right, and,indeed, her duty to inform one when their punctution is not correct. She cannot live in a world of constant shock. She lives a tough life, and at times cannot bear to get up in the mornings. Everywhere there are signs of indifference and ignorance. At every point Lynne Truss gives us examples of her everyday shock, and how she tries to right it. Lynne Truss started out as a literary editor. She is the author of three novels and many radio comedy dramas. She spent six years as the television critic of the "The Times" (London) followed by four years as the sports columnist. She now reviews books for "The Sunday Times" (London), and is heard regularly on
BBC radio 4. Lynne Truss relates how she came to title her book. A panda walks into a cafe. he orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air. "Why" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. "I'm a panda, he says at the door. "Look it up." The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
So, punctuation really does matter, even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death. I am a little afraid to continue the review, in fear that I may unintentionally "shock" the author. Lynne Truss has a reverence for the apostrophe. Several chapters of this small, highly charged, book are dedicated to the apostrophe. And, later on, the comma makes its appearance in a chapter titled, "That'll Do,Comma." The comma has seventeen rules for its use. Didn't know that, did you? In the chapter, Airs and Graces, she reviews the colon and the semi colon, and how they have come to be looked at as pretentious punctuation. The author believes that one of the most profound thigns ever said about punctuation came from the Oxford University Press. "If you take hypens seriously, you will surely go mad." People have argued for its aboliton for many years. In the fianl chapter, Lynne Truss discusses the Internet, God Help Us! Will the end of the book be in sight? Will emoticons change punctuation forever? Read this book, so highly recommended and find out! Prisrob
Rating:
Summary: All you need is a pair of camo' pants, and maybe a gun.
Review: I tremble at the thought of writing a review for this book; nevertheless, I'll attempt it. One the one hand, it was a real joy to read (and learn) of someone else out there who had a categorical whole-body shiver when sighting such atrocities as "book's for sale". On the other hand, I learned of far too many mistakes I make, daily, throughout my own writings and musings.
It is Truss's wit that keeps you reading. Her deft touch with hyperbole is extremely funny (though, at times, you wonder if she really does think the aspiring grammatical terrorist would indeed require camo' pants and a gun). Her examples leave one smiling; I can't help but feel a complete sense of comissery with her annoyance of the title Who Framed Roger Rabbit (no question mark).
It's a guilty pleasure: you shouldn't enjoy being so cruelly holier-than-thou. I couldn't help it. Even at dinner with the new (and distracting) Mr. Dude, I had to pause and point out that our menu was telling us to vacate. We ordered the dish anyway, and quite enjoyed our "stuffed spinach leave".
Long live the revolution!
'Nathan *
* so written as I am technically named Jonathan; hence, the apostrophe holds the place of the letters 'J' and 'O'.
Rating:
Summary: Read, Laugh, and learn!
Review: There's something in this book for everyone. I found myself reading Ms. Truss's (should there be an apostropher there or not?)book and laughing out loud, as well as saying, "I can relate to that!" The reader will certainly learn some things about the history and evolution of punctuation, get some lessons on what not to do the next time they write, and laugh when they read what the simple slip of a comma can do. The authour's style of writing is most definitely British, so American readers will notice some nuances in sentence structure as well as spelling, but as a Brit myself, I found it delightfully refreshing. Read it you'll like it! It's entertaining, educational and helpful. I have recommended it or shared with several of my colleagues who like to write.
Rating:
Summary: How much fun could a grammar lesson be?
Review: What a terrific book. English Grammar was so boring in school but this book is punctuation with a dry dose of British wit and a giggle. The stories and humorous anecdotes are fun to read. If you're (not your) serious about learning punctuation in a short quick book the "Strunk and White, Elements of Style" is a good resource. This book though is just having some fun with words badly punctuated.
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