Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

Lynne Truss

Apr 2004 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. From the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, this lively history makes a powerful case for the preservation of a system of printing conventions that is much too subtle to be mucked about with.

Ratings and reviews

I use to hate misuse of punctuation and then I had a wreck that caused a mild TBI of all things. I have retained most of the knowledge I have obtain in my 42 years of life (wreck happened 2 years ago). Now I am trying to brush up with this book. I just got it so I cant give more than four stars but I will be back. Wish me luck guys.

First of all, I stole this book from an elderly apt. Bldg shelf. I know... So worth being name-called! Im loving this read... Shes so witty

A quick read that explores why it is important to use correct punctuation and grammar. Made me smile and giggle and shake my head!

About the author

Lynne Truss is a writer and journalist who started out as a literary editor with a blue pencil and then got sidetracked. The author of three novels and numerous radio comedy dramas, she spent six years as the television critic of The Times of London, followed by four (rather peculiar) years as a sports columnist for the same newspaper. She won Columnist of the Year for her work for Women’s Journal. Lynne Truss also hosted Cutting a Dash, a popular BBC Radio 4 series about punctuation. She now reviews books for the Sunday Times of London and is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4. She lives in Brighton, England.