Rating: 
Summary: Publisher's mistake
Review: I found it rather disappointing that what first greets my eyes upon seeing the cover was a grammatical error. In the subtitle to the book, two nouns are used to modify a third noun (Zero Tolerance Approach). At the least, "Zero Tolerance" should be hyphenated. This same mistake is repeated on the title's page.I assume that this was done by the American publisher. (Generally, authors have no say over the jacket-cover's appearance.) I am surprised that Ms. Truss didn't choke on her tea during her American book-tour, upon seeing the cover. The book itself is a delight, and compares favorably to Karen Elizabeth Gordon's book "The Well-Tempered Sentence," which was published in 1983.
Rating: 
Summary: If only everyone learned this much in high school.....
Review: Although I didn't seek out this book - it was more or less dropped into my lap - I'm very glad that I read it. I am definitely a stickler for punctuation. It's gotten me into trouble, even. While the book is a bit difficult to read at times (I had some problems translating British words into their American equivalents, and some sections just seemed to drag on and on) I think this book should be practically handed out to every high school student. It baffles me how people manage to go through life without knowing how to use an apostrophe. Literature professors and grammar and punctuation sticklers like myself will love this book from cover to cover, but even those who aren't should at least skim through it. The humor alone is worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not: very readable
Review: There's been too much hype. The book is very short with a very long prologue and yet is still difficult to read. The most I've gotten from it is that punctuation is important and that there are some humorous examples of how adding or omitting punctuation marks can have dramatic effects on meaning.
Rating:
Summary: Long winded but lots of fun!
Review: Grammarians will certainly enjoy this cheeky and informative read, identifying with many of the bright author's pet peeves (or is it peeve's!?). It does go on a bit too long for the casual reader, but it's definitely a must-have for the collection of any avid reader or writer.
Rating:
Summary: Good, entertaining survey
Review: Lynne Truss has got it absolutely right with this witty and insightful look at the use and misuse of punctuation. Too often, people defend the ghastly misuses of, say, apostrophes these days with the assertion that languages evolve. Indeed they do, but that is no excuse for the kind of sloppiness that renders the language incomprehensible at times. That's not evolution, it's degradation. Lynne Truss shows us why punctuation matters as a tool in the written language. I'd recommend this book both as a good read and as a concise reference work. It deals, of course, with British English. Maybe one day someone will produce a similar work on American English, or a comparative overview. Now that really would be worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Solace for those who cringe at ¿Ladie¿s hairdressers¿
Review: Lynne Truss is a very funny woman who has an "inner stickler" aching to ride around, vigilante-like, with a bucket of white paint eliminating punctuation errors (such as the one in the title above) from public life. But instead she has written a simple, short book on the unlikely topic of punctuation. If you are the sort of person who cringes when someone writes a phrase like "the penguin has it's detractors," you will occasionally find yourself pumping your fist in the air exclaiming "Yes! Yes!" in agreement with Truss's no-nonsense, no-excuses, laff-riot approach. If you have little interest in punctuation-or even if you are frightened and suspicious of it-Truss is still worth a go. Her objective is to convince you that punctuation is a thoughtful friend rather than a dictator. For example, consider these alternative phrases and their varying interpretations, from Handel's Messiah: "Comfort ye my people" (please go out and comfort my people) versus
"Comfort ye, my people" (just cheer up, you lot; it might never happen) Pretty different, eh? Without the comma, poor Handel risked being misunderstood. Truss is humorous rather than unforgiving; she even permits Americans their habit (strange to the British) of putting closing quotes after all other punctuation, and their preference for the "Oxford comma." And if you want to know what an "Oxford comma" is, read the book and be wittily enlightened.
Rating:
Summary: A quick read -- and you'll learn something!
Review: This is a great book (and a quick read!) that will appeal to several kinds of people:
- those who are sticklers for punctuation
- those who missed out on learning about punctuation in school
- and those who don't understand why some people care so much about punctuation. The book presents many basic rules of punctuation in a fun way. It's a good book for people interested in learning or reviewing punctuation marks: apostrophes, commas, semicolons, colons, exclamation marks, question marks, quotations marks, and dashes. Don't skip the last chapter. It's an insightful discussion of the future of punctuation and the impacts of email and text messaging on traditional punctuation, grammar, and spelling rules. Truss makes a good case for not abandoning traditional punctuation conventions, while still being open to changes caused by technology and social norms. As an English teacher, I would have liked to have seen a little more coverage of basic grammatical concepts to help readers understand the "why" of punctuation. However, by keeping her focus on punctuation, Truss makes the book a quick, entertaining and insightful read. As a little bonus, because the author is British, the book also makes the reader aware of the differences between British and American punctuation conventions. U.S. readers, in particular, may be surprised to know that the conventions they learned in school regarding whether to put the puncutation inside or outside of quotation marks are different in British English. There are many other subtle differences as well, which are great for anyone to know in this global economy. So overall, take the time to read this book. You may not agree with every bit of it, but it will make you think, and you'll definitely learn something!
Rating:
Summary: Nitpickers rejoice!
Review: I've heard that some teachers were disappointed in the book because they had unreasonable expectations for it. I'm the kind of person who proof-reads menus, church bulletins and (of course) the daily papers. My husband relies on me to check his papers. We both LOVED it and recommended it to our sons. It's fun, it's entertaining and you might even learn something.
Rating:
Summary: I desperately wanted to love this book.... but it's cute
Review: As an editor and part-time teacher--with a history of teaching English grammar at various times in my teaching life--I pre-ordered this book with great anticipation. I was disappointed, probably because my expectations were so high. There are cute nuggets here and there, accurate and lively attempts at explaining punctuation rules. However, it is not quite as entertaining and engaging as I was led to believe it would be. For most people, I'd rate it at 3 stars. If you are an English teacher looking for ideas to inspire you into coming up with examples that will engage your students, I'd give it 4 stars. It's cute and mildly amusing but could have been incisive and engaging. I'll end on a strength: Truss does incorporate examples from the history of English, other languages, and printing about which not everyone knows.
Rating:
Summary: Imperfect, but an enjoyable read for grammar geeks
Review: I'm a stickler for grammar and enjoy finding grammatical errors, typos, and other funny goofs with the English language. The book hasn't been in America very long and already it has reached the coveted bestseller lists, and this despite retaining its British syntax. In reading the introduction, I was pleased to find the publisher had decided not to change the UK spellings, phrases, and even punctuation rules in the American version of the book. Hurrah! It would have been a nice touch to add a note regarding the differences in the rules of American and British grammar. A couple of problems do come with leaving the British intact, however. A sign mentioned in the book is racist in American English and should have been omitted. Also present is the word "fag," harmless in Britain, but a prejudicial term in the US. Not everyone realizes this. Writing this review is stressful knowing the punctuation is going to be checked with a magnifying glass, while I remain true to what I have been taught. Here's an example of where we disagree: Rule eight in using apostrophe to indicate the plural of words such as do, don't, but, and and. In reviewing my entire library of grammar-related books, a majority indicate the apostrophe is not needed when the context is clear. Thus, use dos, don'ts, buts, ands, Bs, CDs, and so on. Use the apostrophe when minding your p's and q's and trying to remember to cross those t's. Truss clearly explains the purpose of ellipses and [sic], two items that have confused writers and readers. Since this book has given me a renewed and refreshed outlook into punctuation, I'm on the lookout for more grammar gotchas. Those hemming and hawing at this review and the thought of saving punctuation won't want to come within ten feet of this book. On the flip side, if our English teachers use it to supplement sedate grammar books, maybe kids would actually listen to them and enjoy English grammar.
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