Scintillating Meta-Commentary People who will enjoy this book include: 1.) Scholars with a sense of humor. 2.) Linguistics professor groupies. 3.) Thoughtful types who periodically chuckle over the New York Times crossword. 4.) Mendacious windbags. 5.) Hair-splitters, nit-pickers, and cavil-creators. 6.) Blog enthusiasts who like seeing books of same. 7.) You.
For a preview of Madding Gerund's style, topics, and wit, visit the the very popular on-line magazine Language Log (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog). Then buy this wonderful book and prepare to think and smile.
A Witty and Informed Dissection of Contemporary English Any book that calls The Elements of Style "Strunk and White's little book of (expletive)" promises irreverent fun for anyone who loves language and writing. While The Elements of Style is a beginner's introduction to English usage, Far From the Madding Gerund delves into the dynamics of the language, dissecting news stories, anecdotes, common (and uncommon) grammatical mistakes, linguistic controversy, and unusual syntax. Grammarians will be horrified at the authors' insistence that English is a fluid language, with changing needs and rules. Others, particularly those who write, will be delighted by the often hilarious dismantling of antiquated rules. The authors, Mark Liberman and Geoff Pullum, have the credentials to pull this off; they are professors of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Santa Cruz, respectively.
Compiled from the website Language Log, the short pieces in the book range from outrage at an article suggesting that animals can "understand language" to disbelief at the "linguistically astonishing" sentence written by author Ian Frazier to a more serious analysis of the disappearance of certain negations (e.g. "I could care less" versus "I couldn't care less.") Of course, E.B. White gets skewered early in the book. Strunk and White's rule "Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs" is ridiculed when the authors discover that adverbs and adjectives make up 13 percent of the word count of a quoted passage of a White essay. The conclusion? ". . . it is not just that Strunk&White offer crappy usage advice; it's that they demonstrate that their advice is crappy whenever they write, because they are utterly unable to follow their own rules, even on a bet. And as Mark says, nor should they." The authors make liberal use of contemporary events and technology to support their assertions, making this book both relevant and accessible.
Readers who loved Eats, Shoots, and Leaves will find even more to enjoy in Far From the Madding Gerund. The content here is not nearly as limited as in the former, although the wit is as entertaining. Hilarious and educational For people with any interest in the English language and proper usage, this book is a must-have. I found myself laughing outloud at the writers' witty takes on how our language is so badly mangled. I learned a few things as well. Some of the references to other people or events would probably mean more to someone in the academic field but that does not take away from the book.
