Harbrace College Handbook

I have been using it for years, also - and when I lose it, I feel as though I've lost my right arm! (Oh, OK, well maybe as though I've lost my purse or something!) In fact, this paragraph is probably filled with grammatical and style errors because I can't find my Harcourt Brace (that's what it used to be called)! :- )

It never ceases to amaze me how many times some anal grammarian tries to correct my writing only to review my Harbrace College Handbook to see they're wrong and I'm right. This is the definitive guide to American English grammar. Easy to read, plenty of examples, and more importantly it even covers those gray areas of usage letting the ready know this non-standard without simply cutting you off without explanation. I have purchased the latest edition ever since I purchased my first copy as text to Advanced Composition during my undergraduate days at the University of Maryland University Collage. Harbrace as served me very well ever since helping me obtain a high GPA in regards to my written assignments. I have a lot of other grammar books that I look at now and then, but Harbrace remains the standard.

I have used the Harbrace College Handbook for 31 years. My first was the 5th Edition, which I keep on the top in one of my desk drawers. I used it throughout college. I bought this edition for my father, who gave me the first one, and seems to have lost his own copy (he's 86!). This edition is much thicker than the 5th one -- these books are not exactly "reading material," but a reference guide; so I haven't read it from cover to cover. This book comes with a computer CD to install the entire book on your computer.

This is an exemplary work. It is absolutely essential to the high school level and above as a general and specific guideline to writing. I strongly recommend this book for those interested in perfecting their grammar and writing styles.-Jonah Sampson Boyarin hehe

Excellent reference if it is necessary to constantly bibliograph infomation off the internet and other electronic sources