The Sense of Style

The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

De: Steven Pinker

Narrado por: Arthur Morey

A short and entertaining book on the modern art of writing well by New York Times best-selling author Steven Pinker.

Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media? Do the kids today even care about good writing? Why should any of us care?

In The Sense of Style, the best-selling linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker answers these questions and more. Rethinking the usage guide for the 21st century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of a century ago. Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose.

In this short, cheerful, and eminently practical book, Pinker shows how writing depends on imagination, empathy, coherence, grammatical knowhow, and an ability to savor and reverse engineer the good prose of others. He replaces dogma about usage with reason and evidence, allowing writers and editors to apply the guidelines judiciously, rather than robotically, being mindful of what they are designed to accomplish.

Filled with examples of great and gruesome prose, Pinker shows us how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2014 Steven Pinker (P)2014 Penguin Group

Great audio book! Will be listening to it again.

This is the first audio book that I have listed to by Pinker. Usually i read his books.

great read, great advice

this book is worth more than all the composition classes I've had throughout high school and college.

Great book, but a bit too complex for listening

Overall, the book is great. However, some chapters are meant to be read and not listened, as they present complex rules about syntax and grammar.

Defence against Grammar Nazis

The content of this book is indispensable, and the narration of the audiobook suits the writing style. If you are looking for help and formulating your writing, and are confused by some of the ambiguous usage advice, you may find resolution and an ally.

A good addition to a writer's collection

This book is a good addition to a writer's collection - especially for people in academia. Although a little stuffy in tone, it provides some great insights and guidance. I would recommend getting a physical copy to follow along, since some of the examples are easier to follow in writing.

Common sense approach that changed my mind

I enjoyed other books by Steven Pinker but this is my favorite. He solved a host of grammar problems for the time being.

I've been corrected on grammar a lot and confused a lot. One can't please everyone unless one never talks.

For Pinker the main thing is communication, not following rules. The rules change; they keep changing.

A stylish read

As an editor, avid reader and occasional writer, I appreciate and agree with most of what Stephen Pinker has to say about the language, the rules that govern it and the myths and misconceptions that surround it. But in the few areas where we disagree, I find his arguments often unconvincing and occasionally hypocritical and even ironic. Even so, I did learn and thing or two, so it was a worthwhile investment of my time. He is a brilliant man.

A well-researched, beautifully written guide.

This is a masterwork from a remarkable scholar writing with grace and class. It is jam-packed with brilliant insights into written English.

Excellent Author on Writer's Craft

Steven Pinker brings delight to an amazing breadth of intellectual disciplines. So when I saw he had focused on writing, I had high expectations. They were met.
It isn't your father's writing handbook. (My mother was an English Professor so I have seen quite a few.} Nor is it a how-to technical manual like the Hargrave Handbook.
Instead (like other Pinker books) this works from deep principles, to solve the daunting problems of written communication.
I also bought the book, so I could easily refer back to areas that I want to apply better in my own writing.

best of the best

The first 3 chapters are great for general writing, in any language.
The following chapters have many gems on writing in English.
Great book.