Plain Style

"The late Lasch, college history professor and the author of "The Culture of Narcissism" (1979), among other seminal works, so despaired of his graduate students' writing that he began to compile a list of common compositional errors. This list soon evolved into a full-fledged writing guide. . . . Lasch's wry, distinctive voice is evident throughout."--Joanne Wilkinson, "Booklist"

Christopher Lasch (1932-1994) was Professor of History at the University of Rochester. Among his many books are The Culture of Narcissism, The Minimal Self, The True and Only Heaven, and Haven in a Heartless World. Stewart Weaver is Professor of History at the University of Rochester.

"The late Lasch, college history professor and the author of The Culture of Narcissism (1979), among other seminal works, so despaired of his graduate students' writing that he began to compile a list of common compositional errors. This list soon evolved into a full-fledged writing guide ... covering the principles of literary construction; conventions governing punctuation, capitalization, typography, and footnotes; characteristics of bad writing; words often misused; words often mispronounced; and a table of proofreaders' marks. Lasch's wry, distinctive voice is evident throughout... For serious word lovers."-Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist