Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

The fourth edition of the APA *Manual* is, despite some of the flaws others have noted, very useful to those studying or working within the social sciences. While our current breed of word processing programs have indeed been a great benefit to academic writers, we cannot forget the orgins of academic writing linger from long before the computer age. This book offers a complete and varied guide to how to write for a field of disciplines. I would compare it to the *American Medical Association's Style Manual* as I also use this reference quite often in that both books truly offer a great deal of information that is useful in science-related writing. We are lucky to have something that is this complete.

If you're required to use APA format and you only want to buy one book, this is the one. While some of the mastery guides to using APA might be helpful, this manual is the bible. It is not, however, Greek or Hebrew. It is a little intimidating until you get used to it and if you're doing much APA writing, you're going to get VERY used to it. A spiral-bound copy makes it easy to keep the book open to your place - the only thing that would make it better is tabs for frequently used sections (but you can add those yourself).

Hard to review a style manual - they are all a pain in the butt to live/write with. However, this spiral bound version is the best, you can lay it down without having to type one handed while you consult it! Any price premium for the spriral binding is worth it, don't buy the regularly bound one, trust me!

When I originally purchased the current edition, I bought it in a regular binding and immediately regretted it upon first use. This spiral bound edition allows it to lay flat so that when you are trying to confirm the style, you don't have to lay two other books on top of it to make it work. BUY THIS EDITION IF YOU HAVE TO USE APA.

The "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" is one those boring but necessary books that eventually will be on your shelf whether you like it or not. It is on mine.

Those of us who make a living by combining words into sentences acquiesce to collecting various style manuals. You know the list: MLA, Chicago, APA, and for those with a journalistic or marketing bent, the AP. The social services, many teaching journals (not all), and of course, most psychological journals require using the APA style for white papers, essays and the like.

Style formats make life easier on the editors you write for, and the APA does that job precisely.

I fully recommend "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association," not because it will make you smile like a Barbara Cartland novel, but because academic journals editors will smile with a satisfied look while reading your writing.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com