Who's (oops whose) Grammar Book is This Anyway?

by C. Edward Good

Book Overview

In America today college professors cringe at the lack of writing skills displayed by their students, business leaders bemoan poor communicative skills among their employees, and people themselves... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567315763
• ISBN13: 9781567315769
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Barnes and Noble Books
• Length: 430 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

I wish I could give this book 10 stars

I own and have used numerous grammar books, and this one is without a doubt THE best grammar book on the market for the general reader. Mr. Good starts on the ground floor, so that no previous knowledge of grammar is needed. At the same time, however, he does not talk down to the reader, nor does he shy away from many aspects of grammar that other books deem too complex for beginners. Everything is explained here with perfect clarity, and nothing important is left out. Moreover, beyond Mr. Good's superlative explanations of grammar, this book earns 10 stars because Mr. Good shows us how our knowledge of grammar can improve our writing. He does this not with airy praise of grammatical education, but with concrete examples and advice that you can start using to improve your writing immediately. This book is not short, and it's not full of jokes and cartoons. But, if you really want to learn grammar and to write and speak better, buy this book now and read it from cover to cover. I can't think of any better way to spend your money and time.

Excellent

For many years I have been searching for a well written and well structured book of English grammar but only in vain. I have analyzed a great number of grammar books but none of them had met my expectations. Until now! Good's book is not only well written, it is also simple, lucid and comprehensive. Throughout the entire book, the author gives valuable and helpful advice to the reader as to how to avoid common grammatical errors. Each section is carefully and pedagogically structured to facilitate understanding of the key concepts of english grammar. As is well known, pronouns can cause difficulties to unexperienced users of english grammar. However, Good provides a clear and simple explanation which will eliminate all doubts and answer all questions pertaining to cases of pronouns. Furthermore, some people are not sure when to employ adjectives versus adverbs but Good reveals simple rules and guidelines that will help clarify this aspect of grammar. In addition, this book will also help you identify as well as differentiate between highly important elements of the english grammar such as transitive versus intransitive verbs, direct vs indirect objects and independent vs subordinate clauses. The final section of the book highlights common pitfalls and serious grammatical blunders. Subsequently, you will not only learn how to avoid serious grammatical errors, you will also learn how to rectify them. Needless to say, effective communication relies heavily on adequate and sufficient grammatical skills. This book will provide you with necessary skills that will optimize your communicative competence. In addition to this book, I highly recommend a book called Word Smart by Princeton Review. This book will enhance and enlarge your vocabulary in a way you never thought possible. To my mind, the above mentioned books are the only books you need to communicate effectively in english language. I would like to stress though that mastering english grammar will require an additional book, which is titled Analyzing English Grammar. This is truly an excellent book. In conclusion, Edward Good's book is invaluable. No other book on the market is nearly as good as this one. I strongly recommend this book to all people who want to improve their grammatical skills.

Finally found the "perfect" grammmar book

I've been looking for a long time. Until now, I found only grammar books with little bits and pieces of useful information, but the books, on the whole, were extremely dry, and painful to trudge through. I stumbled across Mr. Good's book, and fate must have caused me to look at the particular spot on the shelf in the bookstore. I picked it up, and within seconds of reading the Preface, I knew this was the book I had been searching for.I read the book in just a few days, and it has answered writing questions that have plagued me (consciously and unconsciously) for as long as I can remember. Reading this book brought me a sense of relief and calm, as I no longer felt that grammar was a mysterious tune that only a few were fortunate enough to hear.I have nothing but excellent things to say about this book, and cannot recommend it enough. You will be thankful.

Simply A Treasure!

This book is amusing, it is witty, and it is just plain good. I consider myself lucky to have come across this treasure of a book and would like to thank Mr. Good for writing it.As a professional engineer who speaks English as a second language, I have been searching for a grammar book I can use to improve my grammar proficiency. Over the years, I bought many grammar books that quickly started collecting dust. First of all, grammar is a dry subject, and one is quickly tempted to give up. Second, most books do not seem to address the needs of those who speak and write English as a second language.Well, this one is different on both accounts. In less than a month since I started reading "Oops Me," I have covered more material than I had in years with other books. And the best part is that I am enjoying the learning. Mr. Good is a natural storyteller, and once he engages you, learning becomes an adventure, a joy ride really.In a word, this book is a "must."

Well Done, Good!

"Oops, Me!" is exactly the sort of grammar book that I have been wishing for. As a former Resource Consultant for an ESOL program, I have reviewed numerous books in this vein but (until now) I have been unable to find one that is suitable for the broad range of needs that we address. "Oops, Me!" has enough content to make it useful for writers at the highest levels but is accessible for middle school students and is enjoyable enough to be worthwhile reading even for those who believe they already know the grammar. The four sections I tested produced an average Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score of 7.1 and a Reading Ease score of 67.2. The book is also very well organized, which makes it useful as a quick reference source, though I found myself reading more than I really needed when I used it for that purpose. The darn thing is just plain well written!