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Summary: Invaluable compendium for Authors & Editors
Review: Having completed my first book, my editor kept hasseling me until this purchase was made. I can see now and appreciate his persistence.The usefulness of two specific areas that demanded my attention were met with thoroughness and clarity in this reference: copyright permissions and endnotes. Every single scenario was covered minutely, and provided the style assistance I needed. My only comment to you authors/editors is not wait as long as I did to purchase. Get the hardbound, you'll likely wear the softcover out quickly. This is complete deal for style.
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable compendium for Authors & Editors
Review: Having completed my first book, my editor kept hasseling me until this purchase was made. I can see now and appreciate his persistence. The usefulness of two specific areas that demanded my attention were met with thoroughness and clarity in this reference: copyright permissions and endnotes. Every single scenario was covered minutely, and provided the style assistance I needed. My only comment to you authors/editors is not wait as long as I did to purchase. Get the hardbound, you'll likely wear the softcover out quickly. This is complete deal for style.
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Summary: Dry, but thourough. Excellent index.
Review: Having English as a second language, I need an exhaustive style manual with a good index. I bought this book in a store, and I spent the better part of an hour comparing it to its competitors. Though pricy, The CMS consistently came out as a winner, and I haven't regretted the 40 bucks I coughed up. You believe what you read in this book, it gives you the whole story, and the excellent index makes sure you find what you're looking for. At $28, it's a bargain
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Summary: Why Don't You Have This Book?
Review: I don't suppose I'm adding much to what the others have said, but if your job or avocation have anything to do with writing, you must possess this volume. This is not optional. I refuse to call it "The Bible" of serious writers, but if there were one, this would be it.
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Summary: Oh, I Hate This Book, but....
Review: I hate this book. Can I say it clearer? Following its detailed formatting for bibliographies... UGH!... But I need it. I don't like that either. What can I say? It is making me a better writer, and assisting me in my ability to pursuade publications to print my work. It helps me earn money. Like the Associated Press book, it is an absolute requirement for any writer serious about presenting his work professionally and with a consistent style. More academic publications require Chicago. More journalistic publications require AP. See? You need them both. In fact, you'll need several other style manuals if you make a living (or intend to) as a writer and/or editor. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. (Look... I used Chicago already... notice the use of commas in a series!) Buy this book. Hate it, but in an appreciated way. I fully recommend this book. Anthony Trendl
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Summary: I love this book!
Review: I have put a lot of time and effort into writing this book, and hope everyone that uses it becomes a better writer.
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Summary: I love it.
Review: I love i
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Summary: Time to revise the examples
Review: I use the Chicago Manual all the time and it is a terrific guide. My only complaint: the examples are (distractingly) sexist.
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Summary: Time to revise the examples
Review: I use the Chicago Manual all the time and it is a terrific guide. My only complaint: the examples are (distractingly) sexist.
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Summary: The Centerpiece to any Great Reference Collection
Review: If I somehow found myself in a scenario where I was coerced to operate a grammar hotline but restricted to having a single reference at my disposal, then the Chicago Manual of Style would be my weapon of choice. This venerable, thorough guide to editing and writing may be getting a bit dated, yet it remains an indispensable reference for serious editors and writers in nearly all disciplines. Two main attributes---its organization and its completeness---make this reference so valuable. For example, chapter 5, a treatise on the pleasure and pain of punctuation, starts with the various forms of terminal punctuation before moving into a substantial discussion on the comma (there are more than 20 subpoints discussed on the uses of the comma) and concluding with a roundup of the remaining commonly used marks of punctuation. It's easy to find out the distinction between, say an en-dash and an em-dash, or get a definitive answer about why we need to include serial commas (despite the outdated advice offered by the badly out-of-step AP Style Manual). The advice about names and terms found in chapter 7 seems daunting at first, but the presentation is, again, so well-organized and complete, that, after some study, you will start catching all the errors that make their way into too much printed material these days. The advice here about when to capitalize words such as "federal," "government," or "state" trumps the misleading, confusing dictums of other outmoded texts such as the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual. One more example of why the Chicago Manual of Style is a beacon of calm authority can be found in the common sense approach to the difficult issue of being consistent in the use of numbers. Nothing drives me crazier than fighting with a manager, copy editor, or researcher about the use of numbers. Here the emphasis is on laying on the general principles not as absolute rules but as guidelines followed by a generous overview about the myriad exception and variations to these principles. Numerous examples cover virtually all the situations one might encounter. Any new copy editor worth his or her salt will have highlighted practically the whole second chapter on copyediting; veterans will return here frequently, too. Both will likely have, at some point, thumb tacked or taped a photocopy of Figure 3.1 Proofreaders' Marks within easy viewing distance. Detailed discussions about references and bibliographies, indexing, marking manuscripts, and copyright law (though this is one place where the book is beginning to show its age, for the impact of the Internet on copyright matters was not foreseen when this book was published) round out this reference. Sections on foreign languages, scientific terms, and mathematics in type illustrate further why this book anchors the writer-editor's reference collection. I eagerly wait for the 15th edition to be published.
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