I used (an earlier edition of) this book in an English composition class at the University of Kansas in the late 70's and have kept it with me ever since.

This book has so much to recommend it, it's hard to pick out one thing to emphasize, but the best advise I came away from the book with was Baker's admonition to give your writing the "Argumentative Edge." Like so many students, I found writing exceedingly painful: to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and begin writing inspired me not at all. I thought that I had to sound like Encyclopedia Britannica to write well.

Sheridan Baker slaps you around good to get that notion out of your head. To make your writing interesting (and as a bonus easier), he insists that your writing take a position, express an opinion, argue a point of view. Ditch "fairness" and objectivity--at least to get you started--and all of a sudden, writing becomes pleasurable.

I've never read this advice anywhere else (not even in Stunk and White), and it, along with many other jewels of wisdom have stuck with me for 20 years, making my writing life so much more fun than it otherwise would have been.

Goog work, Sheridan.

I first used this book in 1967 when I was aboard ship taking a course in Expository English offered by The Harvard-M.I.T. Commission on Extension Courses. It has everything one needs to know to become a clear, concise writer. Easy to understand and enjoyable. I used it for many years, then it was stolen. I have been looking for another copy ever since and was afraid it was out of print. I'm about to order my second copy.

I first encountered this book as an undergraduate in Australia in 1981. When I taught mathematics in Zimbabwe I gave my copy to the English Department. I have owned and given away (one stolen) several copies since. So I must think it's the best book in its genre.

Beginners will love The Harper Handbook. My edition is just over 600 pages, chock-full of information. The handbook alphabetically references terms that relate to literature, from terms you know (metaphor) to those you might not (prosopopoeia). The explanations it gives are concise, but very helpful, often with examples. For example, if the book is discussing pastoral dramas, it gives a list of six plays, with publication dates and playwrights. In the back of the book there is a "Chronology of Literature and World Events" that puts a date on many events in the world, Britain, and the US. There's also an index of people mentioned in handbook entries.

I have the 3rd edition and was checking to see what newer edition there might be. I am surprised there is no review of this book, so allow me to fill you in! We can all put words on paper, but how do you make a plan for an effect essay? A plan is more than an outline, it is a flow. There is a natural way to reach an audience than you might include in an outline, but cannot come from merely using an outline. This book will help you very well with that, and with the styling of sentences. I have three "college handbooks" of writing, none of which help me at the creative stage of planning an essay. I recently had to take some scholastic entrance exams that involved writing essays. Even 25 years after completing my freshman english classes, I still have Baker's "The Practical Stylist". In just half an hour of review, it all came back to me. As I sat there in the exam with the clock ticking, I was very comfortable in my writing. I knew what I needed to accomplish and how to do it. Thank you, Sheridan Baker, for your timeless instruction. (If you wonder how the book might have changed from the 3rd to 8th editions, it has enlarged. What was a small chapter 1 now is 2 chapters. The core material is still there, starting at chapter 3.)