Book Description
The Fifteenth Edition is available in book form, on CD-ROM for Windows, and as a subscription Web
site. The same content from The Chicago Manual of Style is in all three versions.
In the 1890s, a proofreader at the University of Chicago Press prepared a single sheet of typographic fundamentals intended as a guide for the University community. That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and the pamphlet grew into a book—the first edition of the Manual of Style, published in 1906. Now in its fifteenth edition, The Chicago Manual of Style—the essential reference for authors, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers in any field—is more comprehensive and easier to use than ever before.
Those who work with words know how dramatically publishing has changed in the past decade, with technology now informing and influencing every stage of the writing and publishing process. In creating the fifteenth edition of the Manual, Chicago's renowned editorial staff drew on direct experience of these changes, as well as on the recommendations of the Manual's first advisory board, composed of a distinguished group of scholars, authors, and professionals from a wide range of publishing and business environments.
Every aspect of coverage has been examined and brought up to date—from publishing formats to editorial style and method, from documentation of electronic sources to book design and production, and everything in between. In addition to books, the Manual now also treats journals and electronic publications. All chapters are written for the electronic age, with advice on how to prepare and edit manuscripts online, handle copyright and permissions issues raised by technology, use new methods of preparing mathematical copy, and cite electronic and online sources.
A new chapter covers American English grammar and usage, outlining the grammatical structure of English, showing how to put words and phrases together to achieve clarity, and identifying common errors. The two chapters on documentation have been reorganized and updated: the first now describes the two main systems preferred by Chicago, and the second discusses specific elements and subject matter, with examples of both systems. Coverage of design and manufacturing has been streamlined to reflect what writers and editors need to know about current procedures. And, to make it easier to search for information, each numbered paragraph throughout the Manual is now introduced by a descriptive heading.
Clear, concise, and replete with commonsense advice, The Chicago Manual of Style, fifteenth edition, offers the wisdom of a hundred years of editorial practice while including a wealth of new topics and updated perspectives. For anyone who works with words, whether on a page or computer screen, this continues to be the one reference book you simply must have.
What's new in the Fifteenth Edition:
* Updated material throughout to reflect current style, technology, and professional practice
* Scope expanded to include journals and electronic publications
* Comprehensive new chapter on American English grammar and usage by Bryan A. Garner (author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage)
* Updated and rewritten chapter on preparing mathematical copy
* Reorganized and updated chapters on documentation, including guidance on citing electronic sources
* Streamlined coverage of current design and production processes, with a glossary of key terms
* Descriptive headings on all numbered paragraphs for ease of reference
* New diagrams of the editing and production processes for both books and journals, keyed to chapter discussions
* New, expanded Web site with special tools and features for Manual users. Sign up at
www.chicagomanualofstyle.orgFor information and special discounts on future electronic Manual of Style products.
Customer Reviews:
Everything!.......2007-09-02
For a writer, the Chicago Manual of Style answers every question about writing and publishing you may have and many more that you haven't thought of. I look up one item and continue reading. Great resource for writers.
Absolutely necessary for a writer or editor.......2007-08-23
The Chicago Manual of Style is a basic requirement for reference when editing for any academic press or dealing with works that require adherence to scholarly formats. There are a few instances where the Manual ducks responsibility and leaves matters up to individual authors and editors, but overall it gives succinct guidelines that make sense. Used in tandem with the online Chicago Manual it helps immensely in dealing with thorny issues of syntax and style.
a must need.......2007-08-17
This is a must need for those that are wanting to be authors.
Save time and editing by doing it right first.
Ernie P Moose.......2007-08-13
Still the standard for editors and copy editors. The 15th edition is much more geared than previous editions for those working on a computer and doing research on the internet. However, do not throw away your copy of the 14th edition, for to make room for new material in the 15th edition much of the detailed advice on punctuation and and usage in the 14th edition has been omitted from the 15th edition.
A must for every bookshelf.......2007-08-09
This book tells you everything you need to know to properly edit a written piece. It also explains the process of publishing, parts of a book, and gives tips to every person involved in the publishing process (author, editor, typesetter, publisher, etc.). The more recent editions (15 and up) give additional information about publishing in electronic formats (e-book, print-on-demand, and web publishing). A must for every bookshelf.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Amazon.com
This is the definitive text for questions of manuscript protocol, copyediting, style, grammar, and usage. For those who find The Chicago Manual of Style a bit cumbersome and sometimes ambigous, Words Into Type will be a welcome reference guide. With its easy-to-use index and definitive explanations, this third edition makes life simpler for writers, editors, and proofreaders. You may never need to know about frontispieces and imprimaturs, but if you deal with words, this is a wonderfully edifying, reassuring fount of clarity and wisdom.
Customer Reviews:
apprecaite the opportunity to purchase item.......2007-03-09
Thank you for the opportunity to purchase. Book answers many questions and is an assest in improving my abilities.
At home on any writer's shelf.......2006-12-03
This is a great reference book for grammar and English rules in general.
For new writers, I recommend going through it front to back once, to familiarize yourself with what's inside - it really is of immense help if you are at all interested in writing cleanly and/or editing your own work (as far as THAT is possible!).
While certainly no substitute for a good editor, this book is one of my most-used references. It has a pretty decent index, and is organized in a useful manner that makes most "rules" easy to find.
Nearly indispensable, yet thirty years old!.......2005-10-02
Somebody who had read my review of Bryan A Garner's Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (2003)--IMHO, the preeminent book on usage, per se--wrote me the other day asking about a good book on typographical style. I recommended Words into Type which I have used for many years. But as I prepared to write a review, I was amazed to learn that a new edition of this outstanding reference work is lacking.
What we have here is the Third Edition from 1974, the same book I have in front of me. Yet, so much has changed since 1974--including the invention and phenomenal growth of a little thing called the Internet--that a new and updated work is sorely needed. On the other hand, so much in terms of what is appropriate style in the publishing world has not changed, which means that this venerable and authoritative work remains a most valuable addition to anyone's library.
First, a note on "style" as used here and as understood in the publishing business. Style does not refer to what should more properly be called the writer's "mode of expression," nor does it refer to such things as elegance or flair in wordsmithing; and yet it does have something to do with "fashion" in terms of how words, numbers, and symbols appear on the pages of books, magazines, and newspapers. In this sense "style" refers to "the rules or customs of spelling, punctuation, and the like..." (from Random House Webster's College Dictionary).
Style should therefore be contrasted with and compared to usage and grammar. Indeed Words into Type includes in its pages plenty of advice on grammar and usage. Part V is devoted to "Use of Words" and Part VI to "Grammar." Still, most of the book is about how characters appear on pages and how pages should be laid out and how various sections of books--introductions, indices, appendices, footnotes, typographical style for tables and headings, etc.--should be ordered. Also included is guidance on the various responsibilities of writers, editors and copyreaders. To put it simply, I know of no book that gives anywhere near as much guidance on how words are transformed into type than this very appropriately named, Words into Type.
I have by way of comparison in front of me a copy of my old The Associated Press Stylebook, which I used when I was a newspaper reporter years ago. The AP stylebook tells us which words to capitalize for example and which words to leave lower case. It covers abbreviations, punctuation, whether numbers should be spelled out or not, conventions to follow in the reporting of sports, and various other matters related strictly to newspaper reporting.
Words into Type does all this and, as indicated above, much, much more. The AP stylebook is fifty-some pages long; Words into Type is nearly six hundred. I do not have the Chicago Manual of Style in front of me, but it is the only book that I know of that can compete with Words into Type in terms of inclusiveness. Perhaps it is a better book today. But when I compared them some years ago it wasn't even close. Words into Type was more comprehensive while being at the same time easier to use and understand. Still the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style is from 2003.
Publishers, even if they use the Chicago Manual of Style, should have a copy of Words into Type at the ready. And any writer who wants to look professional and furthermore wants to understand the process of turning words into type--and indeed would like an education in "style"--should also own this book. With self-publishing and Web-based publishing growing by leaps and bounds everyday, I think it would be a good idea to update this book.
Maybe the people at Prentice-Hall or whoever now owns the copyright are working on such an edition. I hope so. Until such an edition or its equivalent comes out, I cannot recommend this book too highly as indispensable to serious writers, editors and publishers.
Recommended by the authorities.......2005-04-22
I recently posed a question to "The Chicago Manual of Style" Web site and received a very quick response along with the recommendation that my future grammar questions could best be answered by consulting "Words Into Type." That's the only recommendation I needed to convince me to buy a copy.
Great book in need of an update.......2004-04-07
This is a great style guide; however, it hasn't been updated to include technology and practice for even the late twentieth century! When talking computer technology, Words into Type talks about cathode ray tubes, for crying out loud. Having said all that, it is in many cases, much more user-friendly than the Chicago Manual of Style. Where Chicago can be vague or indecisive, Words is most helpful. Apart from the fact that Words really needs to be updated, it's an invaluable tool. Since it hasn't been updated since 1974, you'd be better offbuying a used copy than plunking down good dough for a text that's 30 years old.
Amazon.com
What can we say? This weighty tome is the essential reference for all who work with words--writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, publishers, and students. Discover who Ibid is, how to deftly avoid the split infinitive, and how to format your manuscripts to impress any professor or editor (no, putting it in a blue plastic folder is just not enough).
Book Description
The 14th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has now been superseded by the 15th edition. See below for a link to the new edition. The ISBN of the new 15th edition is 0-226-10403-6.
Customer Reviews:
Complicated.......2007-09-26
What can you say about the Chicago Manual of Style? It's supposedly beyond reproach, although I find it incredibly frustrating. I often have a very particular punctuation or grammar question, and I spend hours looking through references and cross-references without ever finding exactly the information I want. I think I'd recommend taking a Chicago Manual of Style course before using the Chicago Manual of Style. I'm thinking of getting the Oxford Guide to Style. I hear it's much more straightforward. Besides, who wants to know that much about book-binding?The Oxford Style Manual
Prescriptionist McKinnon is off base.......2004-04-08
Arlo McKinnon writes, "Many of the 'rules' expounded in the Chicago Manual of Style are in direct contradiction to accepted convention; to name just two examples, the placement of a serial comma before the 'and' and the addition of an 's' following the apostrophe in a possessive already ending in "s.'"
McKinnon's ignorance regarding the serial comma rule certainly calls into question his authority as an editor. The only place I've seen this so-called convention of omitting the comma is in the AP Manual--not an authority to be relying for serious editorial work, I think. Besides, how well would McKinnon's blind obedience to this so-called convention apply in the possibly apocryphal book dedication, "I'd like to thank my parents, Ayn Rand and God"? Aren't editors supposed to improve the flow and logic of writing, not force it into some straitjacket of rigid rules that only exist inside the editor's head?
People seeking editorial advice would be better off with the Chicago Manual than they would be with a hyperbolic prescriptionist like McKinnon. My office has both the 14th AND 15th editions on the shelf, and they get used--usefully--every single week.
A Cancer upon American Letters.......2003-11-16
Knowing that I go against the current strain of popular thought, I am writing to urge people not to buy this error-laden work of fools. The Chicago Manual of Style has done more to devalue American writing than anything other than the educational cutbacks initiated in the early 80's by the Reagan administration. Many of the "rules" expounded in the Chicago Manual of Style are in direct contradiction to accepted convention; to name just two examples, the placement of a serial comma before the "and" and the addition of an "s" following the apostrophe in a possessive already ending in "s."
I have served as an editor to writers in such diverse venues as concert program notes, grant proposals, fiction and books on history. Invariably, those who rely upon the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) are the ones whose work requires the most revision. There is a lugubrious clumsiness to writing infected with CMSisms. It should be a cause for concern to anyone who cares about American prose of any kind that such a muddle-headed embarrassment is becoming the law of our letters.
There are numerous excellent guides available for reference. Traditionally, I have recommended Turabian. However, I am dismayed to note that the editor of the most recent edition of that book has chosen to "conform" it to the Chicago Manual of Style, the exact opposite of what should be done. So get an earlier edition of Turabian, or use Strunk. Best of all, read a lot of great prose and model your own prose on what you encounter therein.
I feel obliged to state that I am not opposed to evolution in language. English is among the most vital and vibrant of languages, and thus most subject to change. What I oppose is change that diminishes rather than enhances. The Chicago Manual of Style diminishes English. It deprives English of its elegance, concision and effectiveness. Please do not waste your money on this travesty.
Putting the Exceptions Where they Belong.......2003-04-10
As a freelance editor and typesetter, I find myself using CHICAGO nearly every day. At first, I thought it was unnecessarily thick and dense, but as I compared it to other style manuals, I found CHICAGO to be more comprehensive, thorough, and well-organized than others.
As with any reference of this type, it will take the reader a little time to become accustomed to the order. A first-time user will swear at it, but after repeated use, the user becomes more familiar with the how and why of this work.
Things that at first I found frustrating I now realize could NOT have been handled in a better or more efficient way. There is often no obvious place to put exceptions or obscure rules, and the editors pick a likely location. For example, suppose that while editing, I encounter a situation which doesn't quite fit a standard rule. At first, I think that this exception obviously belongs in Location A in CHICAGO, and wonder why the editors did not put it there. However, a month later, I may encounter a similar exception, but believe now that it obviously belongs in Location B in CHICAGO, and wonder why the editors did not put it there. Later, I realize that I have now thought that the same exception belonged in two different locations -- obviously, the editors can't just keep putting the same exceptions in every possible tangential location. As I gained familiarity with the book, I came to understand why certain exceptions or certain obscure rules were placed where they were -- and I came to agree that they were generally placed in the best location.
That said, there are still a few things I haven't found, but those generally involve simultaneous applications of multiple rules. Each rule is covered, but sometimes, it is unclear how multiple rules intersect.
I am entirely unwilling to trade it my CHICAGO for AP, MLA, Turabian, Strunk & White, or any other style manual.
Needs revision.......2003-03-04
This work has such a reputation, and so much praise has been (rightly) given to it in the reviews, that it certainly does not need an endorsement; what could I say that hasn't been said?
That having been said, the Chicago Manual of Style is in need of a revision. Specifically, it does not cover issues that arise when self-typesetting books or journal articles, a common practice among mathematicians and scientists in the age of LaTeX.
Book Description
The Fifteenth Edition is available in book form, on CD-ROM for Windows, and as a subscription Web
site. The same content from The Chicago Manual of Style is in all three versions.
In the 1890s, a proofreader at the University of Chicago Press prepared a single sheet of typographic fundamentals intended as a guide for the University community. That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and the pamphlet grew into a book—the first edition of the Manual of Style, published in 1906. Now in its fifteenth edition, The Chicago Manual of Style—the essential reference for authors, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers in any field—is more comprehensive and easier to use than ever before.
Those who work with words know how dramatically publishing has changed in the past decade, with technology now informing and influencing every stage of the writing and publishing process. In creating the fifteenth edition of the Manual, Chicago's renowned editorial staff drew on direct experience of these changes, as well as on the recommendations of the Manual's first advisory board, composed of a distinguished group of scholars, authors, and professionals from a wide range of publishing and business environments.
Every aspect of coverage has been examined and brought up to date—from publishing formats to editorial style and method, from documentation of electronic sources to book design and production, and everything in between. In addition to books, the Manual now also treats journals and electronic publications. All chapters are written for the electronic age, with advice on how to prepare and edit manuscripts online, handle copyright and permissions issues raised by technology, use new methods of preparing mathematical copy, and cite electronic and online sources.
A new chapter covers American English grammar and usage, outlining the grammatical structure of English, showing how to put words and phrases together to achieve clarity, and identifying common errors. The two chapters on documentation have been reorganized and updated: the first now describes the two main systems preferred by Chicago, and the second discusses specific elements and subject matter, with examples of both systems. Coverage of design and manufacturing has been streamlined to reflect what writers and editors need to know about current procedures. And, to make it easier to search for information, each numbered paragraph throughout the Manual is now introduced by a descriptive heading.
Clear, concise, and replete with commonsense advice, The Chicago Manual of Style, fifteenth edition, offers the wisdom of a hundred years of editorial practice while including a wealth of new topics and updated perspectives. For anyone who works with words, whether on a page or computer screen, this continues to be the one reference book you simply must have.
What's new in the Fifteenth Edition:
* Updated material throughout to reflect current style, technology, and professional practice
* Scope expanded to include journals and electronic publications
* Comprehensive new chapter on American English grammar and usage by Bryan A. Garner (author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage)
* Updated and rewritten chapter on preparing mathematical copy
* Reorganized and updated chapters on documentation, including guidance on citing electronic sources
* Streamlined coverage of current design and production processes, with a glossary of key terms
* Descriptive headings on all numbered paragraphs for ease of reference
* New diagrams of the editing and production processes for both books and journals, keyed to chapter discussions
* New, expanded Web site with special tools and features for Manual users. Sign up at
www.chicagomanualofstyle.orgFor information and special discounts on future electronic Manual of Style products.
Customer Reviews:
Buy the Book.......2007-10-09
Is a required book for a class in grad school. Really, really, really wish I would've bought the book instead. Yes, the book is big...but e-version is so difficult and frustrating to use, (and I'm fairly technical,) that I end up going to their website instead. A disappointing waste of money.
Save Your Money.......2007-07-17
The Chicago Manual of Style is a standard worth having in print. However, the electronic version is the worst electronic implementation of any book that I have ever seen. There is no excuse for that in this day and age. It makes U of C look very childish and unprofessional. In addition to the problems already mentioned, I add these:
(1) The font appears to be a fixed-size bitmap font that is just blown up by making the pixels larger to get the right size. The text on my high resolution monitor is barely legible. Unprofessional doesn't even begin to describe this.
(2) The interface is useless. By default when you start up the program the application is maximized. Most people will not want that as you can only view a section at a time which means that 95% of the screen will be wasted white space. You can double-click on the title bar and resize but the left side of the application is taken up by a table of contents and tabbed dialog with bookmarks and search results. These do not resize themselves when you resize the application, so you are basically stuck with a full screen application and fonts that are the worst I have ever seen in a fairly expensive electronic book. (3) Cosmetically there are lots of problems, like interface parts that don't line up and screen refresh problems that often cause you to have to restart the application. This was clearly thrown together by someone who had zero self respect and no concern for quality of work. Typical these days I guess.But I have never seen something this bad from a respected publisher.
Get the print edition. It is great. But avoid the electronic edition like the plague. It is a waste of good money. If zero stars was an option that is what I would give it. It is sad that a well-known book publisher is willing to put this kind of garbage out and have the nerve to actually charge more for it than the print edition. Shame on you U od C.
Nice to have the resource portable/offline, but interface needs improvement.......2007-01-13
I own the book, but as a freelance editor, I wanted something I could take on the road with me when I travel. I did the trial of the online membership, and it is nice, but not when you're sitting somewhere without internet access. The CD-ROM seemed like the perfect solution.
Unfortunately the implementation leaves much to be desired. When I first installed the software, it worked fine, but the next time I loaded it, the pane with the table of contents and search results had disappeared and I couldn't get it back. I tried reinstalling and it still didn't work, rendering the program essentially useless. I e-mailed CMS customer support and they never wrote back. Eventually about a month later I happened to check their site again and found that they had posted a CD-ROM update file (which wasn't originally up there when I first had the problem). Installing this update did fix the problem, but it would have been nice if they had responded to my e-mail.
Now the CD-ROM does basically fit my needs--I do like having that heavy reference volume in a portable format on my computer. However, the one thing that is really annoying is the searching capability. In the software, if you search for multiple words, it searches for that exact phrase in that order--it does not do an "and" search on the separate words. It gives you an option to do an advanced search on a word, which lets you do an "and," "or," or "not" search, but limits you to just two keywords--the one keyword and the modifier keyword. If you try to search by more than one word in either the search term or modifier box, it pops up an error message that says "Advanced Search does not accept phrases"! How annoying is that, to only be able to search by two single words.
When I'm online, I actually use CMS's web search interface--I like seeing the Q&A results, and I still find the online search easier to use and more comprehensive because it does a normal "and" web search by as many words as you want to enter. This makes it much easier to find what I am looking for. Then, to read an article, I go look it up by article number in the software!
Despite the annoyances, I would still recommend it to anyone who needs portable, offline access to this reference. Just be aware of the shortcomings.
Defective Software.......2007-01-11
On my computer, the InstallShield-based installation program crashes halfway through the installation process. I contacted the support staff at the University of Chicago Press. They asked for information about my computer and said they were working on the problem. After weeks of waiting, I was finally informed that the software is simply defective and given an address where I could send the CD for a refund. Very disappointing.
Tastes great--less filling.......2006-12-03
Like the other 2 reviewers, I agree it would be better to see whole pages of the book at a time (I suppose I'd really rate it 4 1/2 stars). But does that flaw make the product a flop? Heck no! Not only can you do searches, but when you click on an item in the index and read the page you're sent to, you can get right back to the same entry in the index. That sure beats flipping around in the (heavy) printed volume. And if you take your laptop to the coffee shop to do your work, like I do, you'll appreciate having your CMS along without the added weight.
I found the interface very intuitive. Three features that will be quite useful are bookmarking, notes, and highlighting. It's nice to be able to "mark up" my CMS without actually writing in a book.
Book Description
This completely updated edition of an industry classic shows a new generation of editors and designers how to make their publications sing! Readers will find a treasury of practical tips for helping story and design reinforce each other and create powerful pages that are irresistible to readers. Brimming with hundreds of illustrations, Editing by Design presents proven solutions to such design issues as columns and grids, margins, spacing, captions, covers and color, type, page symmetry, and much more. A must-have resource for designers, writers, and art directors looking to give their work visual flair and a competitive edge!
Customer Reviews:
Excellent guide and reference material........2007-01-10
I use this book to teach my first year graphic design students. It has some excellent and simple illustrations. The layout of the book is very friendly and easy to follow.
Excellent book!! - "Conflicted" should look a little deeper!.......2006-12-02
First of all, if "Conflicted" found the book difficult to follow, so be it. Mileage varies from person to person. And I will agree, the cover is a disappointment.
However, the part you couldn't read was a design element, not intended as text to be read; the **title** is printed in clear letters at the top of the cover. Second, this book is intended for beginners and - since we supposedly learn 90% of everything we *ever* learn by example - it tries to teach as much by example as by assertion. Hence, the informal style and wonderful profusion of examples. White **shows** as well as tells on almost every two-page spread - that's one of the major strengths of the book, in my opinion. Instead of distracting the reader by content-specific illustrations, he chose **very carefully** hand-drawn illustrations - and, by the way, mostly black and white to keep the book affordable. And for all that concrete terminology you couldn't find - try the Glossary that begins on p. 241.
As I said, your mileage may vary. But to me, this book presents the basic concepts of page and type design for the beginner in a way that really worked for me. 30 years later, I still value it!
Thank you, Mr White........2006-05-13
I have probably never learned more about any subject than I have with this book. Being the eternal student, I can be critical if a book doesn't teach me anything new, or pads itself out with extraneous rot. This book does neither of these things. It is concise, incredibly comprehensive, clear, honest and delivers much much MUCH. How I would love to get inside this man's brain and/or have him partner my business! The attention to detail and range of example is exhilarating. An exemplary work that could very well have delivered the bones of my entrepreneurial idea, or at the very least, given me the vim and knowledge to execute it. Thank you, Mr White.
Conflicted.......2005-09-21
The Good:
The book contains an abundance of illustrations which can be very helpful. The author uses the text of the book itself as bad examples of design.
The Bad:
As a newbie to publication design, I approached this book as a student. I probably would have never even opened the cover of it if it weren't required for a class. The design of the cover (and most of the book) is horrible. I can't read the title and it does nothing to attract me visually. The illustrations are so sloppy they are unprofessional. Although sketches in real life should be messy, the sketches in the book should at least be interpretable. The author never uses any concrete terminology, so it is difficult categorize information as you absorb it.
An Especially Useful Feature . . ........2005-08-11
Rather than reiterating what other reviewers have already done a great job of covering, I'll simply put my proverbial 2 cents worth in for my favorite feature of the book.
Anyone who has taken design classes or read many design books has seen that the authors almost always instruct the reader to sketch out "roughs" of ideas on paper while doing the initial brainstorming on a design. This is the only book I've run into with any quantity of such sketches included.
It's always a pleasure to see an author put their money, or in this case their page space, where their mouth is.
Nicely Done.
Customer Reviews:
No mention of library databases.......2006-06-27
I saw no mention of databases such as InfoTrac/Gale and EBSCOHost that are extremely important in research these days. These popular online tools are called "aggregated databases" in the APA handbook and "library subscription databases" in the MLA handbook. The omission of this format is unacceptable, in my opinion. I am selecting books on citation styles for my library, and this one will certainly NOT be among the ones I choose!
This is a really good book!.......2005-12-06
This book is an excellent resource for anyone that is unfamiliar with the current APA format. It's loaded with practical applications and is very easy to follow. Highly recommended!
Average customer rating:
- The resource I keep coming back to...
- Not what the title explains
- The benchmark in its field
- Thoughtful, but overly long and loosely held together
- Terribly wordy - lots of deadwood
|
Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Text for Readers
Karen A. Schriver
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0471306363 |
Book Description
From an international leader in document design, research-based insights about writing and visualizing documents that people can use . . .
This book is for writers and graphic designers who create the many types of documents people use every day at home or school, in business or government. From high-tech instruction manuals and textbooks to health communications and information graphics, to online information and World Wide Web pages, this book offers one of the first research-based portraits of what readers need from documents and of how document designers can take those needs into account.
Drawing on research about how people interpret words and pictures, this book presents a new and more complete image of the readerâa person who is not only trying to understand prose and graphics but who is responding to them aesthetically and emotionally.
Written by document design expert Karen A. Schriver, Dynamics in Document Design features:
- Case studies of documents before and after revision, showing how people think and feel about them
- Analyses of the interplay of text and pictures, revealing how words, space, visuals, and typography can work together
- A fascinating and informative timeline of the international evolution of document design from 1900 to the present
Customer Reviews:
The resource I keep coming back to..........2005-08-10
This book is the most useful one I've found on the subject. Design books of all stripes (document-design focused or otherwise) have a tendency to provide "principles" without ever providing real support for said principles. Books will be loaded with recommendations that may or may not be well supported by data, quantified or at least well documented study results, etc.
Schriver's book does exactly the opposite, and this is why it is longer than many others. It is impossible to read about Schriver's document design principles and not know exactly where they came from. Virtually every recommendation is, for once, well supported by research findings. This book never tells you to do something without first explaining why it should be done.
If you're looking for a short-and-sweet book that conveys the most basic principles of document design ("principles" that may in fact be a designer's personal preferences), this isn't it.
If you're looking for a book that will help you make better design decisions and help you understand why to make these decisions over others, then this is the book for you. After all, it isn't so unusual for professional designers and others in the workplace to have to explain exactly why they've made certain choices over others, and this book can help.
Not what the title explains.......2005-04-26
This book could be cut off to more than half pages it is now. The information is over explained and reader gets bored.
Better luck next time!
The benchmark in its field.......2005-03-06
The reviewers who say this book is wordy and over-long just don't get it. This is not a "how to do it in five easy lessons" handbook. If you find a book like that - burn it! Books like that are usually self-published by amateurs who don't understand the complexities of the field, and they are worse than useless. In fact, they are often filled with advice that has been so oversimplified that it is actually wrong. You CANNOT learn document design in five easy lessons.
Conversely, Schriver's book is a refreshingly thoughtful, well-researched, and comprehensive overview of document design. It starts with the history and philosophy of document design and continues through contemporary needs and trends. It contains especially strong advocacy for usability studies, including documentation of those conducted by the author and her colleagues. It's about time we document creators stopped "blaming the user" and started taking responsibility to make improvements when documents are hard to understand.
Document design is a relatively new field of study, so the comprehensive timeline of its development is a gold mine, especially since no author has attempted it before. This type of in-depth research is sorely needed.
Schriver explains things in a way that is clear and compelling, with lots of thoroughly documented examples and supporting charts, tables, and graphics for clarification. And her research spans several decades, which is invaluable for tracking the evolution of document design. She has produced an unparalleled work which will be the benchmark against which other books are measured for a long time.
Thoughtful, but overly long and loosely held together.......2003-11-22
For an author who believes in giving priority to readers, she actually does a rather poor job considering her reader. She is an academic and as such has the foible of wanting to put all her knowledge on display. So she's done little trimming and condensing of her material into a form that is really useful to readers who want to quickly get to core ideas about document design theory and practice.
The opening chapter abstracts are unnecessarily long, and just repeat what shortly follows in the body of the chapter. While I liked the way she put document design in a social and historical context, this could have been done much more succinctly. The long timeline is too tangentially related to what readers really want to know about, namely document design, to interest many of them. It seems included because the professor did a lot of research and just hated not to have more to show for it than a few succinct paragraphs.
Later chapters presenting the results of various reader response studies are interesting enough, but surely we could move more quickly to the results and their relevance to document design without spending so much time with dry narration of the actual empirical testing.
The theoretical section offers a long overview of theoretical approaches, arguing in favor of a rhetorical approach. Yet the chapters that go on to apply the theory offer advice and conclusions that hardly seem to warrant such a heavyweight theoretical foundation. For instance, the chapter on typography just offers familiar practical advice of the sort one gets in many introductory books on typography. The same is true about the long section about grids. All the opening theory favoring rhetorical approaches yields results that sound very close to the plain old common sense of the non-theoretical how-to craft school that gets debunked in the opening. So she does not end up making a very strong case for the value of her own theoretical approach, and we feel we waded through a lot of theory without much benefit.
In reality, I think she does have a case and she does have some good examples of how attending to the reader through empirical research can improve document design. But her ideas would be much more forcefully and usefully presented in 200 as opposed to 500 pages.
Terribly wordy - lots of deadwood.......2003-01-29
Sorry - I would not recommend this book to a TECHNICAL writer.
This book has 559 pages and could be cut down to maybe 100 pages of useful information. Each chapter has a full page explaining the chapter... if you have to do that, you haven't planned and written the chapter well. A good product sells itself.
It takes the author 5 pages in the preface to explain the book! It also has a lot of side head paragraphs explaining more... explaining the explanations. This book was painful reading for me... I kept thinking "bla bla bla bla bla"
This book seems to have a lot of the author's opinions and theory, but not very much practical information.
Amazon.com
"A foolish consistency," Emerson insisted, "is the hobgoblin of little minds." That may well be, but editors have enough reasons to reject your work; don't let sloppy inconsistencies be one of them. The New York Times Manual of Style & Usage was written for the paper's editors and writers, but it is a fine, up-to-date resource for anyone's use. Our language is ever-mutating, and a guide such as this will ensure that you understand the impact your words might have before they reach print. Should you use Native Americans or American Indians? Debark or disembark? Did you know that thermos is no longer a trademark, but that Popsicle and Dumpster are? Writing, when you get down to it, is nothing more than the careful choosing of words. This style book will ensure that you don't choose carat when you mean karat, jury-rigged when you want jerry-built, chow chow when chowchow is called for, or V-8 when you could have had a V8. A naysayer may bridle against the strictures of such a rule book, but the authors believe "the rules should encourage thinking, not discourage it." Plus, "a rule," they say, "can shield against untidiness in detail that might make readers doubt large facts." We'd call the book "user-friendly," but that, we've learned, can be downright "reader-tiresome." --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
Is the deejay a wannabe?
Or does the D.J. just want to be?
When is heaven capitalized?
Do you stand in line or on line?
For anyone who writes—short stories or business plans, book reports or news articles—knotty choices of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and meaning lurk in every line: Lay or lie? Who or whom? None is or none are? Is Touch-Tone a trademark? How about Day-Glo? It’s enough to send you in search of a Martini. (Or is that a martini?) Now everyone can find answers to these and thousands of other questions in the handy alphabetical guide used by the writers and editors of the world’s most authoritative newspaper.
The guidelines to hyphenation, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are crisp and compact, created for instant reference in the rush of daily deadlines. This revised and expanded edition is updated with solutions to the tantalizing problems that plague writers in the new century:
* How to express the equality of the sexes without using self-conscious devices like “he or she.”
* How to choose thoughtfully between African-American and black; Hispanic and Latino; American Indian and Native American.
* How to translate the vocabulary of e-mail and cyberspace and cope with the eccentricities of Internet company names and website addresses.
With wry wit, the authors, who have more than seventy-five years of combined newsroom experience at the New York Times, have created an essential and entertaining reference tool.
Download Description
For anyone who writes -- a short story or a business plan, a book report or a news report -- knotty choices of spelling, grammar, punctuation and word meaning lurk in every line: Lay or lie? Who or whom? None is or none are? Is touch-tone a trademark? Is Day-Glo? It's enough to send you for a Martini. (Or is that a martini?)
Now everyone can find answers in the handy alphabetical guide used by the thousand journalists of the world's most authoritative newspaper. The guidelines to correct hyphenation, punctuation, capitalization and foreign and English spelling are crisp and compact, created for instant reference in the rush of deadlines. Rewritten for the first time in twenty-three years and greatly expanded since the last edition, the manual tackles issues that will follow writers into the new century:
- How to respect the equality of the sexes without self-conscious devices such as "he or she"
- How to choose thoughtfully between terms like African-American and black; Hispanic and Latino; American Indian and Native American
- How to translate the vocabulary of e-mail and cyberspace for everyday readers, and how to cope with the eccentric capitalization and punctuation of Internet company names and Web site addresses
The authors have more than seventy years of combined newsroom experience, most of it at The Times. They recognize that our language is changing, but they tailor their responses to the paper's impression of its readership: "educated and sophisticated... traditional but not tradition-bound."
They counsel a fluid style, easygoing but not slangy, the unpretentious language of a letter to a literate friend. They invite readers of the manual to be precise while casting off the stodgy (among dozens of examples, writing before instead of the pompous prior to, and carry out instead of implement).
The authors also offer a thumbnail guide to newsroom ethics and standards in their entries on anonymous sources, attribution, fairness and obscenity. And they seed the rules with wry humor. (On vogue words: "Wannabe is the faddish slang of adults who, well, want to be teenagers." And about the late: "Do not fall into this error: Only the late Senator Miel opposed the bill. He was almost certainly alive at the time.")
For writers, editors, students, researchers and all who love language, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage is an entertaining tool as well as an essential reference.
Customer Reviews:
Don't buy this........2004-08-19
This is a book which will tell you that using "data" as a plural is "stilted and deservedly obscure". This book essentially surveys the current mis-use of language and writes it down for all to follow. I expect they would have to issue a new version every year to keep up with the drift, which I suppose would be a good money-maker for the publisher.
Superb - for fiction writers, too!.......2004-01-13
_
Easy to navigate, has the answers to the questions you want, and you can find them instantly. I use this far more often than the Chicago Manual of Style or Strunk and White. It's small, well-organized, and has it all (most of it all, anyway).
I write fiction, and this guide works wonderfully anyway; I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a fiction writer. Sometimes--but only rarely--entries don't apply to fiction writing, or the rules differ.
The manual is organized alphabetically, not just by subject, but the entire book is alphabetical. This makes it *so* much easier to find what I'm looking for than the other reference guides.
E.g.: Do titles of books go in quotes? Look up "book" and the answer is there. If the answer isn't there, this manual anticipates what you may be looking for and tells you: for titles, see "title." If you look up the word, "quote," it will tell you how to use quotation marks (not 2nd grade information, but every permutation of those gnawing things you just aren't quite sure about when writing a professional cover letter or a story). And again, it can anticipate what was left out of the "quote" entry and send you elsewhere.
It's a keyword book, organized alphabetically, beginning to end. It *is* the glossary, in a sense, but the glossary doesn't send you to a wordy, where's-what-I-want chapter; the info is succintly at hand. No need to spend any amount of time searching for your question, or answer; it's there for you, as is the reason for the usage. I'd call this the opposite of the Chicago Manual of Style, where time spent searching for where they may have chosen to put my question is an exercise in frustration.
This is a great reference guide for any writer's desk, and within my reach at all times.
Say it as simply as possible........2003-09-28
I would expect the world's leading daily newspaper to produce a pretty decent style guide and I was not disappointed with this edition. Having always worked in the design side of publishing, where it is necessary to be much more familiar with words and language than other areas of print design, I've collected a few style guides over the years. This manual and the one from The Economist I have found the most interesting.
The New York Times book offers clarity and sensibly an alphabetical solution to the contents so that you can look up, for instance, elements of punctuation individually rather than have them all grouped under Punctuation. The manual takes a whole page to explain the use of hyphens and intriguingly uses this example 'Use the suspensive hyphen rather than repeat the second part of a modifier, in cases like this: On successive days there were three-, five- and nine-inch snowfalls' Quite correct but not very elegant I thought. It is this attention to detail and the thoroughness of the manual that impressed me.
I think it is worth mentioning here a rather unique style guide by Keith Waterhouse (author of 'Billy Liar) called 'Waterhouse on newspaper style'. I frequently get this out because it such a joy to read. Originally produced for journalists on the Daily Mirror (in the past the leading British tabloid) it is alphabetical but concerned with style more than anything, part of the contents might give you a feel of the subject matter, Adjectives, Alliteration, And now, The asthmatic comma, Captions, Catchwords, Cliches (standard), Cliches (trade), Compression, Consequences, Crossheads, Dead letters, Dots and dashes. It was published in the UK by Viking in 1989 and is well worth searching out.
A great and indispensable reference book.......2002-02-06
I wish I had known about this book ten years ago. It's got almost everything I need, as a newsletter editor and technical writer. I love it and use it every day.
Strengths: In-depth explanation of hyphenation with prefixes (pre-, in-, under-), very useful for a technical writer.
Flaws: It's got a strong NY regional focus (to be expected) and omits some useful words such as "hitchhike".
I back it up with the AP stylebook and Fowler's Modern English Usage.
A Great Manual -- but not for tired eyes!.......2002-01-09
This excellent manual shows some of the care and thought that went into Fowler's, Modern English Usage first published in an Oxford University edition of the 1920's. Newer writers have filled the need to update old Fowler and "Americanize" the examples without markedly changing the rules of our language. In this respect, the present authors Siegal and Connelly have done a great job of updating everything that crossed their desks. It was revealing to see, for example, the use of MIRV in two conflicting applications. Also, the small caps font for related entries is very useful.
Yet, I am frustrated; the glossy cover conceals an unfortunate economy in its production. The paper reminds me of pulp novel stock and the binding of these 369 pages which will be well-thumbed, is likely to fall apart if the pages are opened for the book to rest flat on a table. The print size is fairly small, but most important, the print is weak, the paper greyish -- a hard combination to live with. If you have any vision problem, you will need to read this with a strong light.
The thoughtfully presented Foreword (yes, this book has a Foreword well worth reading) with its well-chosen examples of style is excellent -- on any kind of paper!
It's difficult, if not impossible, to produce an error-free text, even after more than one edition, but when it's more than a spelling or language error, it's worthy of mention: Entries for both Fahrenheit and Celsius should give conversions to each other, but the Fahrenheit does not convert to Celsius; you'll have to reverse the math yourself.
If you are going to use this as a frequent reference, opt for the hard-cover edition.
Book Description
General Printing is a comprehensive guide to letterpress printing. With 300 photos and 140 illustrations, it offers detailed step-by-step visual instruction. Key topics include: handsetting type, taking proofs, mitering rules, locking up a form, adding packing and make-ready, feeding a platen press, advanced composition, design, typography, and tricks of the trade. "The best all-around introductory book for traditional letterpress printing, this manual is profusely illustrated with detailed and useful photographs and should occupy a prominent place on the shelf of every letterpress printer. It will serve as the next best thing to an apprenticeship at the feet of a master printer, and is certain to be used as a handy reference throughout your printing journey." --David S. Rose, Introduction to Letterpress Printing
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Books Index
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