The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition

I was raised on printed books and, though readily acknowledging certain obvious advantages of online editions, I tend to prefer the accessibility of text which doesn't require electricity to be seen and read. In addition, I'm used to memorizing the physical placement of any subject matter within a given book, so I can get right to it without referring to the table of contents. Also, when I look up a particular topic, I often stray to the neighboring pages and end up learning more than I bargained for. It isn't quite so with the online format: you find your point of interest quicker, but it pops up out of context, and you can only see suggestions and links to related—and unrelated—topics. Printed books or online editions: either pick can be more viable under certain conditions, even though I think that books offer a sedate and deliberate experience more conducive to internalizing fresh knowledge. As to the book itself, it's a great help and a definitive guide to good writing, editing, proofreading, editing, publishing and what not. I also refer to A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language by R. Quirk et al.; however, it tends to be rather metalinguistically oriented, while the Chicago Manual of Style sits more on the side of practical honing of text so that when it reaches the reader it is coherent, consistently and neatly structured, and it follows all formal and legal requirements of a particular type of publication. Amazon's processing of the order was hassle-free, the delivery—faster than I expected!

If you are into American English, no matter what style you may be using in your work, this tome should have a place on your bookself. The amount of useful information in it is staggering. After looking through the table of contents of version 17 of CMOS online I can easily see why the book gets such great ratings. What doesn't it cover? Is there a book that comes remotely close to being The Chicago Manual of Style's equal. I think not. It's the bible. Outside of specific things other styles employ (MLA, APA, AP Style, CSE Manual, Turabian. IEEE Editorial Style Manual .....) this book covers just about everything. The amount of stuff everyone can use is mindboggling, simply exhaustive and thorough to the nth degree. At $55 the book isn't cheap, but what great reference book is? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BUYING IT.

When people tell me they know multiple languages, I am always surprised. I barely have scratched the surface of English as a grown adult. This book is a treasure. A reference manual that you will use the rest of your life if you work with words. Whether you have a few minutes to spare as an office monkey, or need to study it for college - this book WILL teach you many, many things about the English language you never knew.

I'm taking a proofreading course, and this is the style guide used in the course. It's very comprehensive, which is good; sometimes finding exactly the answer you're looking for can take a while, given how thoroughly English grammar and punctuation are explained here. There is a website that provides an online version of this, and they offer a reduced price copy of the manual with your first membership fee. If you know what you're looking for, the web search facility may be all you need and will allow you to do without the book, but it's nice to have a hard copy.

This is my go-to reference book while I'm working on editing my novels. So much faster than looking up style questions online, and well organized to make it easy to find what I need. A worthwhile investment!

This is pretty much THE resource for fiction editors and writers. I remember over the years--I have various editions-- finding some of the rules really stupid (still do). Even so, this is a very good resource to clarify some rules of usage that we can forget or we never learned in school. I used this back when I edited. I keep it nearby when I go blank on some things about capitalization or approved style or usage, etc. It's a thick book and not as user-friendly as I would wish. It would be lovely if folks who bought a copy of this pricey tome also got access to more examples at the CMOS site and ongoing notifications of revisions of rules before the next edition released. In the digital age, this is not that hard to do. As far as changes: One of the changes is that the previous recommendation to always spell out "United States" no longer applies. Using "US" is now appropriate as well. Also, they do not prefer the use of "ibid" anymore for multiple citations; rather, they recommend the use of short citations. Some changes to hyphenation-- head hunting becomes head-hunting; e-mail is now email--and some differences in certain uses of commas are also included in the new edition. Also, Internet loses its capital to become "internet." And find how to do a citation for quotes from Twitter. :) Bottom line: pricey, but useful for knowing what is the "preferred" use/style of punctuation, syntax, etc.

Like many starving writers, I simply don't have the cash to drop on a brand new copy of the 18th edition, so I opted for the 17th one in "used - very good" condition, and it actually looks like brand new! Only the jacket has VERY minimal wear on the edges, but other than that and the 3 red marker lines on the bottom of the bookblock, it's pristine and beautiful! I plan on browsing through this gigantic reference book while sipping on a glass of wine this Saturday night.

It's the Chicago Manual of Style, what more can I say? Since 1906, The University of Chicago Press has established rules and guidelines for academic and literary writing. Consistency is key to credible and authoritative writing. Even if you are a blogger of creative writing, you should have a copy of this book to establish your blog's style if you want to be taken seriously in the greater world of published writing. If you are blogging more on general topics like travel or memoir, consider opting for the journalistic style established by the AP Stylebook. If you are a freelance editor, you should own both books and know when to use which style.

This was an upgrade from my online software purchase of the 15th edition (Windows and I've since converted to Macs so it became inaccessible). As a freelance editor, this guide is a brilliant resource. And when I could not find sufficient advice on a footnote/biblio issue I had, I wrote to them, not really expecting an answer, and got a detailed personalised response in six hours. Needless to say, I was both taken aback and impressed. But just a terrific resource for any professional editor working on full-length fiction and nonfiction projects.

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is arguably the best (and maybe the biggest!) of a variety of style manuals. "Style" means the format by which articles, books, journals, magazines and online magazines are written and published. It is a "how-to" guide to achieve pretty darned perfect writing, containing everything conceivable a writer, proofreader, copy editor or managing editor needs to know. Traditionally used for books, it can be used for other types of writing. Rather formidable at first sight, I find the best approach is to choose one small section ("Commas" for example) and just read through it, easily done at one sitting. Commas? Really? Oh, yes. Who knew all the information about the simple comma, about which lots! of people make mistakes... but not with the Chicago Manual of Style. Do yourself of favor and buy the best.

This is the real Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) - there are, unfortunately, some fakes listed on Amazon.de. This is a HUGE book and is the comprehensive version of the CMS. You don't need anything else if you have to submit a thesis/dissertation or manuscript using the CMS.

Libro para profesionales. Mucha información. Es un manual de consulta en el que hay de todo.

Book arrived in perfect condition and care. Satisfied with my purchase overall.