The Anarchist's Guide to Grammar: "Banish the "rules" of grammar in the U.S. " is the revolution called for by author Val Dumond. "Scary? Of course, but drastic measures must be taken. Just look at the state of language today The time is now Stand up and reclaim it " "We've been taking U.S. language for granted," claims this long-time writer. We make several assumptions: 1) that we have a language called "Proper English"; 2) that a set of "rules" lies in some mysterious place, written by some mysterious authority; 3) that one must follow those "rules" to speak and write correctly. Not so ...

As adults, it's particularly important to express ourselves clearly, both in speaking and in writing. Grammar For Grownups is the book that enables you to do just that Here, at last, is a manual for people who have to use language in the real world. Not a list of hard-and-fast rules you learned (and forgot) in grade school, Grammar For Grownups is written clearly and wittily as a guidebook -- complete with practice exercises. Learn how to use language effectively by refreshing your knowledge of how grammar works and how words fit together to create meaning. With the book's simple,...

The unrest at Stateside Savings Bank begins when a group of women staff members are invited to join the egocentric president to celebrate Secretaries' Day 1989. When the boss ditches the party early, they conclude that something has to be done about the inequalities that bubble up throughout the bank. The women, eyeing their position right next to the customers, form The Alices Committee (in respect of Alice Doesn't Day) to wage a proxy fight, gain control of the Board of Directors, and make some changes to their workplace. What needs changing? Men hold the senior positions; the Board is...

Pandora Nelle Whaley was born just after midnight on January 1 of the 20th century. As a young girl she promised herself to live through all hunnert years of it. This Pandora didn't open the box, but she watched while women flew out of it over the course of the century. Her life parallels many women's lives as they break from restrictions, demand equal rights, and honor their freedom. Her story is the fictional part of this fiction/nonfiction book. Following each decade of the story are lists of the achievements of real women during that decade. Women today stand on the shoulders of these...

When was the last time you reviewed your beliefs about writing? Took a look at the language "rules" with all their exceptions? Tried to discover your own writing style? Probably never We all sopped up grammar rules in school as if they were manna handed down from on high. And now, as grownups, you see more clearly that those were just "ideas of rules" that you were made to learn, nothing cast in stone or made official. At last, comes an official guide to American-English - as unique as the country that uses it. No hard-and-fast rules to learn, since you are dealing with a language comprised...

Lily, with her friends Megan and Harold, learned the frustration of being "too young" to serve in the military and turned it into energy to scavenge the homefront for re-usable materials, put up with substitutes for sugar and meat, and practice songs that supported the troops. They knew what was going on because they listened to the radio, read newspapers, and went to movies that showed them what real war was like. And those memories lasted lifetimes. Children also bear the scars of war, more indelibly than grownups who are able to brush aside upheavals that occur to "somebody" "somewhere...

Have you ever been tempted to write out your thoughts, a story, or a business report in one sentence - one very l-o-n-g sentence - to either tease the boss, empty your brain, rid yourself of the jitters caused by writer's block, the way of the world, your family feud, or an upcoming interview, and forgetting to complete a sentence, just letting your pen or computer run on and on ("OMG," yells Teacher, "a run-on sentence ") and forget Teacher and that irritating voice of condemnation, and writing your story, report, or thoughts the way they run through your head, placing word after word on...