Mary Norris is a long time copy editor for The New Yorker. The book is part memoir and part reference book. That sounds like an odd combination, but it worked for me. I found her explanations for how to solve grammar conundrums as funny as they were helpful. Unlike many memoirs, Ms. Norris isn't offering readers a one-size-fits-all philosophy to better their lives; she's helping them better express their own philosophies (or theses or contracts, etc.) by teaching them to be better writers.

I doubt I'll re-read it as a memoir, but it will be a permanent fixture on my reference shelf in my office. It really deserves 3.5 stars.

I received this book free as part of Goodreads First-Reads. My opinion of the book is my own and not at all influenced by the fact that I did not have to pay for it.