Word Court - by Barbara Wallraff (Paperback)

About the Book

By the author of "Atlantic Monthly's" highly popular column "Word Court" comes an engaging grammar guide for lovers of language, a national bestseller now in paperback.

Book Synopsis

By the author of the Atlantic Monthly's highly popular column "Word Court," the most engaging grammar guide of our time, with all the authority of Strunk and White and all the fun of Woe Is I.

The "Judge Judy of Grammar" was born when the Atlantic Monthly's Barbara Wallraff began answering grammar questions on America Online. This vibrant exchange became the magazine's bimonthly "Word Court," and eventually the bestselling hardcover book, Word Court.

In Word Court, Wallraff moves beyond her column to tackle common and uncommon items, establishing rules for such issues as turns of phrase, slang, name usage, punctuation, and newly coined vocabulary. With true wit, she deliberates and decides on the right path for lovers of language, ranging from classic questions-Is "a historical" or "an historical" correct?-to awkward issues-How long does someone have to be dead before we should all stop calling her "the late"? Should you use "like" or "as"-and when?

The result is a warmly humorous, reassuring, and brilliantly perceptive tour of how and why we speak the way we do.

Review Quotes

"This is a charming and sensible book about language, by a person who clearly loves language. It ought to be required reading in every American newsroom."-Tracy Kidder

"Word Court passes my test for a great book on style and usage: one can read it for pleasure as well as for advice. Ms. Grammar is unfailingly warm, witty, and wise."-Steven Pinker, MIT professor and author of The Language Instinct and Words and Rules

"Short of having [Barbara Wallraff] perch on your desk, available to give snappy answers to grammar stumpers, the next-best solution is to keep a copy of Word Court handy."-James Fallows, author of Breaking the News

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