Rating: 
Summary: Five Stars
Review: An absolute must for grammarians and writers, fledgling or otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: To plonk or not to plonk...that is the question
Review: If you're used previous editions of this book and are debating if the price of a version upgrade is worth it, a short answer is Yes! This edition is sufficiently revised to justify its price, and the binding is good enough not to justify the hardback version. For any person who writes for a living, this is that little gem that is as always short and sweet to refer to. Unlike the Chicago Manual of Style, it is also a little easier to get off your shelf more frequently!
Rating:
Summary: Short and concise, the way you should write
Review: This book can be read in a couple hours (at most), but despite its short length, it provides many useful suggestions to help clarify one's writing. It is mostly a collection of simple rules and their explanations, all of which are easy to grasp and to employ in one's writing. As in George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language," the central theme here is to be clear. Be precise and don't confuse the reader. The table of contents list the rules, so once you've read the book, you can just flip to the contents to remind yourself of them. If you want to improve your writing, there are many books on the topic, but here is where to start. If you disagree with the rules as some Amazon reviewers do, fine. The authors are dead, and I'm sure they won't take it too personally if you criticize their work. But I don't find the rules restrictive. To the contrary, unless you really know the language and are adept at using it, you can't break these rules without making a terrible blunder. Anybody who writes will benefit from spending an hour or so skimming through this book once every few years.
Rating: 
Summary: Elementally Unpalatable
Review: This is a very poor book on grammar. While it is probably written correctly, it is simply not accessible to the general public. I threw out my copy of Strunk and White many years ago. It was hard to follow, complicated, and written in a "style" that was very Cornell Academic! Sure, we can look at it as a relic in the history of English writing, but just don't try to use it as a desk reference book! (By the way, I replaced my copy with the St. Martin's Handbook)
Rating:
Summary: An Absolute Must, Regardless of One's Goals
Review: Some reviewers here have complained about a perceived rigidity and pedantry concerning this gem of a reference source. To wit: "...I think a lot of great writers, paradoxically, began making sense of their writing by abandoning sense and rules (the stuff of editors)." or "This little book approaches the craft of writing with the sort of dogmatic rigidity usually found in a backwoods cult." These reviewers then go on to rate the book with one or two stars, calling it an "odious book" or "(t)he most overrated manual of all time". As a novelist and an essayist, given to great appreciation of experimental forms and known to indulge in them with a fervor, I can say that these types of reviews are themselves narrow-minded and ill informed. One cannot possibly hope to challenge established norms until one has mastered them. Anything less than mastery of the English language in its written form, by those would endeavor to reshape it is only indicative of a mindless arrogance. Artists such as Picasso, Ray, Kandinsky, and Pollock, revolutionary 20th century imagists who established significant alterations in the way we see art, were master artists who'd taken the time to study and command the issues of composition, balance, and color before ever presuming to break the traditions. Likewise, writers of the ilk of Joyce, Nabokov, and Kesey-individuals who toyed with the language in sometimes shocking and disturbing ways-were first master technicians of the language, knowing precisely how to step outside the box because of their careful apprehension of what is inside the box. This book should be required reading by anyone who undertakes to communicate with the written word. It is concise and clear, and should be as much a part of any author's library as a dictionary and a thesaurus. Know your art, ladies and gentlemen!
Rating:
Summary: Witty, concise, far superior to other style guides
Review: The Elements of Style is more than just a concisely written review of grammar and usage lessons, it is a tribute by E.B. White to the wry spirit of his former English instructor, who illustrates style and grammar lessons with droll examples and commentary: "In ordinary composition, use orthodox spelling. Do not write "nite" for "night," "thru" for "through," "pleez for please," unless you plan to introduce a complete system of simplified spelling and are prepared to take the consequences." This book is more in the spirit of a humorous and inspirational series of essays about writing, like Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird" than it is like a grammar or style guide (except for the fact that it *is* a grammar and style guide, and an excellent, classic yet modern one). Everyone says it's a "must have" for writers but more than that, buy it for its delightful brevity and wit... a refreshingly clever and intelligent style not often seen in instructional texts.
Rating:
Summary: The ultimate prophylactic against BAAAD English!
Review: I originally bought this book for reference, but discovered that Strunk&White's delightful work is also an excellent cover-to-cover read. I strongly recommend it for anyone who loves language as much as I do. For anyone who writes, in any capacity, PLEASE read this book before sending out a single manuscript, and preferably, before even typing a single word. Your editors or employers, and definitely your readers, will thank you. As for me, I still haven't consigned this book to the shelf. I prefer to keep it on my bedside table, a pocket-sized talisman to keep me safe and sound in a world of lousy writing.
Rating:
Summary: this is it
Review: This pocket sized masterpiece contains everything you need to know about grammar (and some humble suggestions on style) in a concise and easy- to- digest format
Rating:
Summary: An absolute must have... if you want to communicate.
Review: This is a classic. Books, music, plays, and movies become classics because they are foundations that inform, entertain, and break new ground (in my opinion). I cannot remember when this book was not recommended for those who needed or wanted to know the elements, the basics of English grammar, including sentence structure and frequently misspelled or misused words. One of the most incorrectly used punctuation marks is the comma. This small, 85 page book, is an excellent reference for novice or grammarian. Teachers can take the simple exercises and teach their students -- and students can look-up the rules. Without form and structure, language degenerates. Dictionaries, quickly become out of date, as the next generation adds their own words. That is a reason to keep your dictionary current, by the way. However the basic structure of English grammar doesn't change simply because it is misunderstood. Please note: there are more commas than necessary in the above paragraph... a reason to read the book is to correct all of the errors I put into that paragraph. This book is now on special order only. I have a copy somewhere in my garage, but gave up looking for it and bought a new copy. I do not regret one single penny. If you write, or read (or talk) then this book is a must.
Rating:
Summary: Where was this book when I was in High School?
Review: This is a sure fire way to avoid all those dredded red marks on your next college essay. Teachers and professors love to tell students what they are doing wrong, but they neglect to tell them why it is wrong; all the answers are in this "little book."
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