The Elements of Style - William Strunk and E.B. White

Writing is like music and drawing in that learning comes primarily through practice and less through instruction. That said, it is nice to have a clear and concise set of rules to guide us, and this is exactly what The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White provides.

Strunk was the 1919 Cornell English professor of E.B. White and wrote The Elements of Style as a textbook for his students. The book was never published till E.B. White revived it, edited it, added a chapter, and published it. Since then The Elements of Style has become the handbook of professional writers, notably, Stephen King.

The book is small, short, and could fit in your pocket. Strunk writes just 65 pages, and White adds 20 more. The book adheres strongly to Strunk's 17th rule: Omit Needless Words. The book is refreshing to read. It is like Listerine for your mind, washing out the bad odors of chewy bits of reading gone foul.

This book had me laughing, which is surprising for a book that is intended to be so technical. Nothing can be more pleasurable than an idea intimated through good writing. Writing is extremely intimate. Whatever molecular processes make everything function in our bodies, writing and language are what bring it out in our soul, and Strunk has mastered writing so that even in a technical book, he can create humor through the interplay of his ideas.

Half-way through the book I knew that it would be a book that I would read again and again. Everyone should read this book again and again, and keep it on hand as a reference towards better writing.

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