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DREYER'S ENGLISH

Name: DREYER'S ENGLISH
Author: Benjamin Dreyer
ISBN: 978-0-8129-9570-1

AN UTTERLY CORRECT GUIDE TO CLARITY AND STYLE

by Benjamin Dreyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 22, 2019

A pleasant voyage with a genial, worthy captain—though we do sail to many places we have been before.

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A veteran copy editor debuts with an account of his beliefs, preferences, and peeves about contemporary English grammar and usage.

Dreyer—vice president, executive managing editor, and copy chief at Random House—rehearses a bit of his personal history with the copy editing profession and then takes us on a journey to the many major and minor isles of written English. In most ways, the author is not an Ahab-ian captain. He recognizes the arbitrary nature of many of our “rules” (after all, we made up most of this stuff). Early on, he explains the silliness of our adherence to such things as never splitting infinitives, never starting sentences with “But” or “And,” never ending sentences with prepositions. Soon, however, Dreyer begins to list specific dos and don’ts, instructing us on the uses of commas, colons, parentheses, and quotation marks. He pauses to explain the difference between an en- and an em-dash, between “who” and “whom,” and “lie” and “lay.” He also has some fun with dangling modifiers. In fact, Dreyer has fun throughout, exhibiting a light tone and a sly sense of humor. He could not resist, when reminding us of the difference between “hanged” and “hung,” that some men are, indeed, hung. He thinks we are losing the battle against “alright” and doesn’t really observe the difference between “nauseated” and “nauseous,” but he does like the distinction between “each other” and “one another.” Also included are some sections on the correct spelling of proper names and on the use of the word Frankenstein (the creator, not the creature). He wryly reminds us that “clichés should be avoided like the plague” and that we really shouldn’t trust internet memes as a source for authentic quotations.

A pleasant voyage with a genial, worthy captain—though we do sail to many places we have been before.

Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-8129-9570-1

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- SEEN & HEARD
Bestseller Dreyer’s English Inspires a Card Game

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.