Clear and Simple as the Truth

Everyone talks about style, but no one explains it. The authors of this book do; and in doing so, they provoke the reader to consider style, not as an elegant accessory of effective prose, but as its very heart. At a time when writing skills have virtually disappeared, what can be done? If only people learned the principles of verbal correctness, the essential rules, wouldn't g...

Everyone talks about style, but no one explains it. The authors of this book do; and in doing so, they provoke the reader to consider style, not as an elegant accessory of effective prose, but as its very heart. At a time when writing skills have virtually disappeared, what can be done? If only people learned the principles of verbal correctness, the essential rules, wouldn't good prose simply fall into place? Thomas and Turner say no. Attending to rules of grammar, sense, and sentence structure will no more lead to effective prose than knowing the mechanics of a golf swing will lead to a hole-in-one. Furthermore, ten-step programs to better writing exacerbate the problem by failing to recognize, as Thomas and Turner point out, that there are many styles with different standards. In the first half of "Clear and Simple", the authors introduce a range of styles - reflexive, practical, plain, contemplative, romantic, prophetic, and others - contrasting them to classic style. Its principles are simple: The writer adopts the pose that the motive is truth, the purpose is presentation, the reader is an intellectual equal, and the occasion is informal. Classic style is at home in everything from business memos to personal letters, from magazine articles to university writing. The second half of the book is a tour of examples - the exquisite and the execrable - showing what has worked and what hasn't. Classic prose is found everywhere: from Thomas Jefferson to Junichiro Tanizaki, from Mark Twain to the observations of an undergraduate. Here are many fine performances in classic style, each clear and simple as the truth.

弗朗西斯-诺尔•托马斯（Francis-Noël Thomas，1943—2019），芝加哥大学博士，曾任芝加哥城市学院杜鲁门学院人文科学教授、系主任、特聘教授。

马克•特纳（Mark Turner），凯斯西储大学认知学科教授，认知科学网创始人之一，凭借此书获得法兰西学院法语语言文学推广奖，曾是马里兰大学的杰出教授和斯坦福大学行为科学高级研究中心的副主任，湖南师范大学客座教授。

译者

李星星，苏州大学英语翻译硕士，开智学堂写作教练，古典风格写作践行者，个人微信公众号：闲星枝。

叶富华，参与翻译的图书包括《地球的法则》《数字乌托邦》《安静的力量》，豆瓣ID: Tony Yet。

审校者

阳志平，知名认知科学家与作家。安人心智集团董事长，心智工具箱公众号作者。致力于认知科学的产品开发、课程设计与科学传播。著有《人生模式》；主编《认知尺度》《追时间的人》《...

弗朗西斯-诺尔•托马斯（Francis-Noël Thomas，1943—2019），芝加哥大学博士，曾任芝加哥城市学院杜鲁门学院人文科学教授、系主任、特聘教授。

马克•特纳（Mark Turner），凯斯西储大学认知学科教授，认知科学网创始人之一，凭借此书获得法兰西学院法语语言文学推广奖，曾是马里兰大学的杰出教授和斯坦福大学行为科学高级研究中心的副主任，湖南师范大学客座教授。

译者

李星星，苏州大学英语翻译硕士，开智学堂写作教练，古典风格写作践行者，个人微信公众号：闲星枝。

叶富华，参与翻译的图书包括《地球的法则》《数字乌托邦》《安静的力量》，豆瓣ID: Tony Yet。

审校者

阳志平，知名认知科学家与作家。安人心智集团董事长，心智工具箱公众号作者。致力于认知科学的产品开发、课程设计与科学传播。著有《人生模式》；主编《认知尺度》《追时间的人》《积极心理学团体活动课操作指南》与《灾后心理自助手册》等书；翻译《工作评价》等书；审校《古典风格》《风格感觉》《超越智商》《积极情绪的力量》《社会网络分析》等书。