Troublesome Words

Publisher and industry reviews

UK Kirkus review

To have a book as definitive as this guide to the most commonly encountered problems of English spelling and usage is highly useful - and the fact that it's written by one of the most entertaining writers in the English language is a considerable bonus. Do you know the difference between blatant and flagrant or flount and flaunt? Do you wear an Arran sweater or an Aran sweater? Do you curl up with a whodunit or a whodunnit? Most of us are given pause by such nagging uncertainties, and while Bryson may not resolve every problem with finality (there are, after all, several options for commonly misused words), he provides us with as reliable a guide as we're likely to encounter. This book has been on many a reading table since its original publication in 1984, and really is indispensable for anyone whose business is the written word: journalists, writers, teachers, publishers. But for the ordinary reader, too, it's a diverting treasure trove of information, constantly challenging the things we think we know - but really don't. This edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, offering rulings that are both reliable and informed, while resolutely keeping pedantry at bay (this is the wisdom of having Bryson on board -- pomposity isn't going to get a look in with him around!). What Bryson brings to the book is humour - and we're never within a million miles of the kind of dry-as-dust tome that this could easily have been. For instance: 'Any journalist who believes that barbecue [may be] spelled bar-b-q is not ready for unsupervised employment.' Who'd have thought that a book as utilitarian as this could be such a treat? (Kirkus UK)