If you love words and the quirky nuances of the English language, you will savor this book. Bryson applies wit and wisdom to every clause. He clears up sticky issues of grammar and syntax likely to bother even the most accomplished writers, and points out shades of meaning that are important but not at all obvious. A few things I learned -

1. "Comic" is something intended to be funny; "comical" is funny whether intended or not.
2. Stalemates don't end. A stalemate is the end, whereas a standoff or deadlock can end.
3. "Meticulous" has a negative connotation of being excessively careful. "Scrupulous" or "painstaking" might be better choices.

Not sure about when to use "who" versus "whom"? "Shall" versus "will"? "If I were ..." versus "If I was ..."? "Compare with" versus "compare to"? Bryson clears it all up.

Another area he addresses is troublesome names of proper nouns. For example -

1. "Notes from Underground", not "Notes from the Underground".
2. Big Ben is the bell, not the clock.
3. Leonardo is the preferred second reference for Leonardo da Vinci.
4. "Finnegans Wake" has no apostrophe.
5. National Institutes of Health - plural.

His clarifications on spelling, though few in number, were amazingly well selected. These, for example, were news to me -

1. Expressible
2. "Hear, hear!", not "Here, here!"
3. Just deserts (not desserts)
4. Ukulele

Reading this book will help you write with greater precision and clarity. At 240 pages, it's surprisingly comprehensive and every bit as good as a desk side reference as The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law

Bill Bryson is an entertaining story teller, but I think he is at his best when he is explaining the history behind things (a la Short History of Nearly Everything, At Home or Mother Tongue).

I am currently reading his Walk in the Woods and while it is amusing to read about his experiences, I actually enjoy it more when he goes off on a tangent and includes some background history by way of explanation. If you agree, then this book is for you.

Granted, you will not find every word here that may confuse you. This may make it less useful as a reference book, since when one turns to a dictionary or thesaurus, you expect to always find the word you are looking for. This volume is by no means exhaustive, it contains only those words the author finds confusing or ones that he frequently sees misused. To call this a dictionary then, may be a bit of a stretch. At times I also wish he was less concise, but then I guess there are practical limits to how long a book like this can be.

What it is, is highly informative and interesting, a hard feat for any writer to achieve. The explanations are clear and easy to understand - he writes for the layman. He educates in an entertaining way and is often quite amusing. This is Mr. Bryson's forte' and he does not disappoint. Look up one word and your eye will stray to another. Before you know it, you have finished the chapter and started on the next.

Highly recommenced, just don't expect it to include every word in the English language.

It's hard to put down. In his inimitable and very amusing way, Bill Bryson explains why difficult words are often used incorrectly and lets us hope that we remember his explanations in future. I bought this for a student of English as a must have. Very highly recommended!