The Chicago Manual of Style

One of the more useful additions to the 15th CMS is the paramenters addressed relative to citations from electronic publications. In the internet age, this is a must for technical and non-fiction writers. Additionally and as mandated by most interpretations of copyright law, whenever one draws from another's work, one must provide documentation. CMS follows a basic documentation style for either footnotes or endnotes. This documentation would include direct quotes, paraphrases or someone else's words or ideas, and facts and figures.

As a writer of technical articles, I use this manual as a guide through the morass of style. An article can be poorly written but sparkle with style and grammar. This article will, at the very least, garner some respect. A kick-bum article delving into the meat of a timely subject, yet penned with poor grammar and distasteful style, will be look upon with disdain.

If you're going to write, spend the bucks for CMS. It will be the best investment relative to broad acceptance of your published words.


Hard on the Eyes   August 14, 2003
 41 out of 57 found this review helpful

Don't throw away your old editions, because CMS 15 is hard on the eyes. It uses blue type that is hard to read and suffers from poor print quality on many pages.


Very fine resource   May 18, 2004
 36 out of 36 found this review helpful

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is without question my favorite style manual. The fact that this manual is one of the best of its kind does not seem to be in question for most people. What does seem to be in question is whether or not the CMOS is a fit for an individual's needs. What also seems to be in question is whether or not the 15th edition is an improvement from the 14th edition.

In terms of fit, I would say that the CMOS is probably a good fit for advanced writers, editors, and publishers; however, most of these advanced professionals already know this. College students might be better served by a style manual specific to their discipline - for example, The Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook for English students, or the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for psychology students. Beginning students might also be better served by a general handbook (such as The Little, Brown Handbook or The Holt Handbook). For office workers, administrative assistants, and secretaries, a better fit might be "The Gregg Reference Manual," which has an emphasis on business correspondence. In each of these cases; however, the CMOS would be a useful backup reference.

In regard to the editions, my overall opinion is that the 15th edition is a significant improvement in content to the 14th, and well worth the purchase. The 13th edition was published in 1982, the 14th in 1993, and this 15th in 2003, so the CMOS is updated approximately every 10 years, which feels like a good revision pace to me. The content revisions are summarized on the back cover, and I'll list them at the end of this review.

In addition to content, the layout of the new edition is also revised. There is a bit of risk and daring in using a light blue font to distinguish examples within paragraphs, and in using a new font for numbering. The light blue text is a bit hard to read at times, but for the main, it seems to add clarity. The daring numbering font is a bit less clear than the last edition, but probably only a keen font connoisseur would even notice.

Content revisions:

- Updated Materials throughout to reflect current style, technology, and professional practice

- New coverage of journals and electronic publications

- Comprehensive new chapter on American English grammar and usage by Bryan A. Garner (author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage)

- Updated and rewritten chapter on preparing mathematical copy

- Reorganized and updated chapters on documentation, including guidance on citing electronic sources

- Streamlined coverage of current design and production processes, with a glossary of key terms

- New diagrams of the editing and production process4es for both books and journals, keyed to chapter discussions

- Descriptive headings on all numbered paragraphs for ease of reference

- New expanded Web site with special tools and features for Manual users - www.chicagomanualofstyle.org


Make Sure You Buy the 14th Edition, First   April 7, 2004
 30 out of 43 found this review helpful

The info you want and need is in the 14th Edition -- stick with that one and you'll never go wrong. This is like the "new coke." The 15th Edition seems to be an edition made different if only for the sake of being different (and, of course, to justify making money after a certain amount of years have passed since the 14th was published). I fear for the next generation if the 14th Edition were to become unavailable. I'm willing to bet the 16th Edition will very similar to the 14th, and only include the truly useful from the 15th (of which, I think, there is little).


First great reference text of the 21st century   October 30, 2003
 22 out of 22 found this review helpful

The 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style is the first great reference text of the 21st century. Writers, researchers, indexers, proofreaders, editors, publishers, archivists, and educators will all find common ground in the collective wisdom found here.

Those already familiar with other incarnations of this guide will find that is still the authority on a multitude of topics. Most of my initial forays have been in the fifth chapter on grammar and usage, a chapter that exhaustively covers all the parts of speech and provides an excellent guide to word usage. A separate chapter covers all aspects of spelling and the distinctive treatment accorded many works, including compounds. If only the eighth chapter on terms and names could be passed into law, then maybe some of the nonsensical and false capitalization that is applied so rampantly to military, political, scientific, religious, geographic, and government names could be controlled. Still, this information provides those willing to take on the fight with plenty of ammo to do it unreservedly. Likewise, the sixth chapter on punctuation will vindicate language purists who insist (as I do) that we have to uphold our standards and rules for punctuation to avoid anarchy in our writing.

A chapter on numbers jumps right into the common fray about whether to use numerals or words, providing myriad examples and not displacing the use of common sense in certain instances. There are plenty of nitty-gritty details here: when to use the en dash with inclusive numbers; how to form plurals of numbers (no apostrophes need apply); what is the correct way to express currency. Chapter 14, which is one of the many sections that reflects how technology has advanced our options and choices regarding printed communications, is essential reading for those in the scientific and technology fields and offers details likely not found in other guides of this sort, such as listing fonts frequently used for mathematical symbols.

The chapters on references, documentation, manuscript preparation, and indexing will likely be touchstones for the next decade. In these chapters, as throughout this guide, the articulate discussions of principals, guidelines, and rules are augmented with examples. The examples reflect a wide mode of communications, from print to the Internet. A chapter on rights and permissions ought to be mandatory reading for all college students. It pretty much covers what is and is not legal without smothering one with legalese.

Appendix A: Design and Production is not for everyone, but I've always be intrigued by the whole process of making books from the first scribbled outline to the binding process, so I find it an interesting read. And if you need more information, a generous 15-page bibliography offers more resources.

This edition is easy to search and use. The typography is more modern and less tiring on the eyes though the light blue type can be hard to read. (Was this "nonrepro blue" used as a countermeasure against photocopying and scanning?) There is also a deft touch of humility here, as noted in the preface: "As always, most Chicago rules are guidelines not imperatives; where options are offered, the first is normally our preference."

As hard as it is to give up my well-thumbed, annotated, and tagged 14th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, I know that is well past time I retired it to sit along side my 13th edition. Too much has changed since the 14th edition was published, but not much has escaped the radar of those responsible for crafting this superb reference.