Synopses & Reviews
Some appreciate fine art; others appreciate fine wines. Stanley Fish appreciates fine sentences. The
New York Times columnist and world-class professor has long been an aficionado of language. Like a seasoned sportscaster, Fish marvels at the adeptness of finely crafted sentences and breaks them down into digestible morsels, giving readers an instant play-by-play.
In this entertaining and erudite gem, Fish offers both sentence craft and sentence pleasure, skills invaluable to any writer (or reader). How to Write a Sentence is both a spirited love letter to the written word and a key to understanding how great writing works; it is a book that will stand the test of time.
Review
“How to Write a Sentence is a must read for aspiring writers and anyone who wants to deepen their appreciation of literature. If extraordinary sentences are like sports plays, Fish is the Vin Scully of great writing.” Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, authors of "They Say/I Say"
Review
“Coming up with all-or-nothing arguments is simply what Fish does; and, in a sense, one of his most important contributions to the study of literature is that temperament…Whether people like Fish or not, though, they tend to find him fascinating.” The New Yorker
Review
“Both deeper and more democratic than The Elements of Style.” Financial Times
Review
“[Fish] shares his connoisseurship of the elegant sentence.” The New Yorker
Review
“The fun comes from the examples cited throughout: John Updike, Jane Austen…all are cited throughout.” Washington Post
Review
“This splendid little volume describes how the shape of a sentence controls its meaning.” Boston Globe
Review
“A guided tour through some of the most beautiful, arresting sentences in the English language.” Slate
Review
“Stanley Fish just might be Americas most famous professor.” BookPage
Review
“For both aspiring writer and eager reader, Fishs insights into sentence construction and care are instructional, even inspirational.” The Huffington Post
Review
“How to Write a Sentence is the first step on the journey to the Promised Land of good writing.” Saudi Gazette
Review
“How to Write a Sentence is a compendium of syntactic gemslight reading for geeks.” New York magazine
Review
“Language lovers will flock to this homage to great writing.” Booklist
Review
“A sentence is, in John Donnes words, ‘a little world made cunningly, writes Fish. Hell teach you the art.” People
Review
“[A] slender but potent volume. Fish, a distinguished law professor and literary theorist, is the anti-Strunk and White.” The Globe and Mail
Review
“In this small feast of a book Stanley Fish displays his love of the English sentence. His connoisseurship is broad and deep, his examples are often breathtaking, and his analyses of how the masterpieces achieve their effects are acute and compelling.” New Republic
Review
“Fish is a personable and insightful guide with wide-ranging erudition and a lack of pretension.” National Post
Review
“If you love language youll find something interesting, if not fascinating, in [How to Write a Sentence].” CBSNews.com
Review
“How to Write a Sentence isnt merely a prescriptive guide to the craft of writing but a rich and layered exploration of language as an evolving cultural organism. It belongs not on the shelf of your home library but in your brains most deep-seated amphibian sensemaking underbelly.” Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
Review
“[Fishs] approach is genially experientiala lifelong readers engagement whose amatory enthusiasm is an attempt to overthrow Strunk and Whites infamous insistences on grammar by rote.” New York Observer
Review
“Like a long periodic sentence, this book rumbles along, gathers steam, shifts gears, and packs a wallop.” Roy Blount Jr.
Review
“Youd get your moneys worth from the quotations alone…if you give this book the attention it so clearly deserves, you will be well rewarded.” Washington Times
Synopsis
New York Times Bestseller
"Both deeper and more democratic than The Elements of Style" - Adam Haslett, Financial Times
"A guided tour through some of the most beautiful, arresting sentences in the English language." - Slate
"Like a long periodic sentence, this book rumbles along, gathers steam, shifts gears, and packs a wallop."
--Roy Blount Jr.
In this entertaining and erudite New York Times bestseller, beloved professor Stanley Fish offers both sentence craft and sentence pleasure. Drawing on a wide range of great writers, from Philip Roth to Antonin Scalia to Jane Austen, How to Write a Sentence is much more than a writing manual--it is a spirited love letter to the written word, and a key to understanding how great writing works.
About the Author
Stanley Fish is the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and a professor of law at Florida International University. He has previously taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He has received many honors and awards, including being named the Chicagoan of the Year for Culture. He is the author of twelve books and is now a weekly columnist for the New York Times. He resides in Andes, New York; New York City; and Delray Beach, Florida; with his wife, Jane Tompkins.