The Craft of Scientific Writing

Rating:
Summary: points out technical writing ruts & shows a better way
Review: I've had this book for many years, and I still pull it out to use it. It is a light read, and not the style guide of other technical writing manuals. What is unique is that it points out the usual ruts we all get into, like redundant or overly complicated sentence construction. By giving 'before' and 'after' writing samples, it is easy to see how much better a few changes make. I have gotten more out of this book, in terms of being a better technical writer (I'm a systems engineer), than I have out of any other book. I also like the reference section in the back about proper word usage (ex: affect vs effect). The book also covers illustration do's and don'ts. If you want style guide info, you will have to look elsewhere. But to improve the clarity of your writing, this is the book to get.

Rating:
Summary: points out technical writing ruts & shows a better way
Review: Substantial book, with lots of actual examples of both good and bad scientific writing to learn from (you will learn about solar power plants!). Practical advice galore. My only minor quibble is that it does seem like a monograph (which it is), and thus is only one person's opinions about some key issues that are subjective in nature, such as how to deal with 'writer's block'.

Rating:
Summary: Very useful book.
Review: Substantial book, with lots of actual examples of both good and bad scientific writing to learn from (you will learn about solar power plants!). Practical advice galore. My only minor quibble is that it does seem like a monograph (which it is), and thus is only one person's opinions about some key issues that are subjective in nature, such as how to deal with 'writer's block'.