Main Description
"How often does a book come along that has you laughing out loud as it improves your writing, especially of technical and scientific material? How often does a book on writing come out aimed at scientists, mathematicians, and computer specialists in the first place? How often does a book on grammar keep you turning the pages from pleasure? Never, you say? Then get this one." Jef Raskin professional writer and creator of the Apple Macintosh project "As someone responsible for the creation of numerous bugs, literary and otherwise, I heartily recommend Lyn Dupreacute;'s exquisite book: a lucid guide to squishing bugs or, even better, exterminating them before they hatch." David C. Nagel President, AT & T Labs "You can borrow my dictionary or steal my thesaurus. Just stay away from my copy of BUGS." Patrick Henry Winston Massachusetts Institute of Technology "The quality of scientific and technical writing would increase considerably if this book were required reading for all authors." The Mathematica Journal "Lyn's style is wonderful: humorous, enjoyable, and incisive. I even liked the plot." Peter G. Neumann author of the Dupreacute;ved Computer-Related Risks "Those of us who have worked with Lyn Dupreacute; treasure her keen wit, and, above all, her absolute mastery of writing." Carver Mead California Institute of Technology "BUGS in Writing deserves to become a standard. If technical writing isn't your principal activity, but you find yourself doing a lot of it, you should read this book." IEEE Micro "This book will help me/you/we a lot/immensely." Martin Griss Laboratory Scientist and Reuse Rabbi, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories "Lyn combines an intellectual command of her subject with a madcap imagination to take you on a joyous romp through the English language." Abraham Silberschatz Lucent Technologies "I just received a copy of BUGS in Writing, which I think is wonderful. (Reading this sentence again, I realize it is ambiguous; but both its interpretations are true. It is also passive, but since the package was waiting for me when I returned from a trip, it is hard to know just who brought it.)...BUGS will certainly be at my fingertips during the final rewrites. Andrew Koenig author of C Traps and Pitfalls and coauthor of Ruminations on C++ "I highly recommend BUGS in Writing, by Dupreacute;. It makes an excellent companion to Strunk & White and the Harbrace College Handbook." Martin D. Carroll coauthor of Designing and Coding Reusable C++ A "superior" alternative to Strunk and White. Computing Reviews "This book simply sneaks up like a cat and charms you." Kitta Reeds SRI International "Having the examples weave their own story is an outstanding device. Our brains must be wired for learning from stories." Bruce R. Montague University of California, Santa CruzMain Description
The first edition of this book was critically acclaimed as an essential reference for anyone who writes about or works with computers. This revised edition, featuring new and clarified examples, enhanced explanations, and more outrageous humor, remains a unique guide to crafting more lucid prose and more effective communication. It is doubtless the only book on English language style that you can read for fun and still use to learn what you need to know.Back Cover Copy
"How often does a book come along that has you laughing out loud as it improves your writing, especially of technical and scientific material? How often does a book on writing come out aimed at scientists, mathematicians, and computer specialists in the first place? How often does a book on grammar keep you turning the pages from pleasure? Never, you say? Then get this one." Jef Raskinprofessional writer and creator of the Apple Macintosh project "As someone responsible for the creation of numerous bugs, literary and otherwise, I heartily recommend Lyn Dupr's exquisite book: a lucid guide to squishing bugs or, even better, exterminating them before they hatch." David C. NagelPresident, AT &T Labs "You can borrow my dictionary or steal my thesaurus. Just stay away from my copy of BUGS." Patrick Henry WinstonMassachusetts Institute of Technology"The quality of scientific and technical writing would increase considerably if this book were required reading for all authors." The Mathematica Journal"Lyn's style is wonderful: humorous, enjoyable, and incisive. I even liked the plot." Peter G. Neumannauthor of the Duprved Computer-Related Risks"Those of us who have worked with Lyn Dupr treasure her keen wit, and, above all, her absolute mastery of writing." Carver MeadCalifornia Institute of Technology"BUGS in Writing deserves to become a standard. If technical writing isn't your principal activity, but you find yourself doing a lot of it, you should read this book." IEEE Micro"This book will help me/you/we a lot/immensely." Martin GrissLaboratory Scientist and Reuse Rabbi, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories"Lyn combines an intellectual command of her subject with a madcap imagination to take you on a joyous romp through the English language." Abraham SilberschatzLucent Technologies"I just received a copy of BUGS in Writing, which I think is wonderful. (Reading this sentence again, I realize it is ambiguous; but both its interpretations are true. It is also passive, but since the package was waiting for me when I returned from a trip, it is hard to know just who brought it.)...BUGS will certainly be at my fingertips during the final rewrites. Andrew Koenigauthor of C Traps and Pitfalls and coauthor of Ruminations on C++"I highly recommend BUGS in Writing, by Dupr. It makes an excellent companion to Strunk & White and the Harbrace College Handbook." Martin D. Carrollcoauthor of Designing and Coding Reusable C++A "superior" alternative to Strunk and White. Computing Reviews"This book simply sneaks up like a cat and charms you." Kitta ReedsSRI International"Having the examples weave their own story is an outstanding device. Our brains must be wired for learning from stories." Bruce R. MontagueUniversity of California, Santa Cruz"Ultimately, it is the playfulness and humor of the author that encourages me to keep this book on my working shelf. I wish I'd had Lyn Dupr as my fifth-grade English teacher." ANPA West Journal"An earful of bugs that will learn you right from wrong." Dick Lyonhearing researcher, Caltech, and Senior Scientist, Foveonics, Inc."It's hard to describe how easy it is to read this book, except to say that it's the first style book that I have ever read entirely, and for pleasure." Ellen Levy FinchExpert Support, Inc. "An indispensible 'bible' for those who believe that clarity and good writing are the key to conveying any message effectively." Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhDProfessor and Associate Dean, Stanford University"Even my cats seemed to like the book." Denbigh StarkeyMontana State University Like a deft and brilliant surgeon Lyn takes your mangled manuscript And dexterously cuts away Those dangling participles Those split infinitives Those fatty adjectives And returns to you An (almost) perfect body Of your work (Marred by only a few Feline paw prints). Lightning quick of mind MotionBDS Summary
This revised edition is the ideal reference for anyone who writes and works with computers. It features new and clarified examples and enhanced explanations.
As computers become ubiquitous in our society, more people are focusing on learning technology--often at the expense of developing more basic academic skills, most notably proper writing.Revised and enhanced, this critically acclaimed and highly praised handbook provides a light, but thorough approach to learning better writing style.
The first edition of this book was critically acclaimed as an essential reference for anyone who writes & who works with computers. This revised edition, featuring new & clarified examples, enhanced explanations, & more outrageous humor, remains a unique guide to more lucid prose & more effective communication. It is doubtless the only book on English style that you will read for fun, & still learn what you need to know.Long Description
BUGS in Writing, written with verve and wit, may be the first book on writing that people read for sheer fun. Designed for easy browsing, it comprises 150 independent and easily digestible segments. BUGS was developed for anyone who writes and who works with computers, including computer and other scientists, students, professors, business people, programmers, and technical writers.