Best Punctuation Book, Period: Comprehensive Guide for Every Writer, Editor, Student, and Businessman

Punctuation is awesome. It can turn a garbled mess of word-vomit into intelligent language, and most of the time, we do this without thinking. In a world without proper punctuation, the elderly would be in constant danger from such casual mistakes as “Lets eat grandma" vs. “Let's eat, grandma." Yet everyone but the most arrogant of Oxford grammarians will agree that it can be pretty darn difficult at times. This approachable, organized, and thoroughly helpful guide is here to diffuse the confusion! Chapters are divided by punctuation symbol, allowing readers to focus exclusively on the most common usage mistakes and exceptions for each. Such heady topics as the Oxford comma, where to put periods in relation to quotations, and when to use hyphens are clarified with ease (if not always with satisfaction). Making this guide the most definitive resource of its kind is the addition of symbols to delineate various styles: book-editing, news media and business writing, scientific, and academic. Appropriate symbols accompany all punctuation rules specific to one style, clearing up almost all lingering questions a writer may have. Finally, the back third of the book contains a master list of commonly punctuated language (such as co-owner and crime fighting) along with their usage symbol, making an excellent on-the-fly reference for tricky words.