Ben Yagoda Books

Exploring the evolution of language, this book delves into how British terms and phrases have infiltrated American English. Author Ben Yagoda, known for his blog Not One-Off Britishisms, tracks the journey of these expressions, highlighting their historical context and reasons for their adoption. The text covers various categories such as military slang, sports, and food, while addressing the nuances of grammar and pronunciation. Through engaging analysis, Yagoda reveals the dynamic interplay between British and American English over time.

Ben Yagoda's How to Not Write Bad illustrates how we can all write better, more clearly, and for a wider readership. He offers advice on what he calls "not-writing-badly," which consists of the ability, first, to craft sentences that are correct in terms of spelling, diction (word choice), punctuation, and grammar, and that also display clarity, precision, and grace. Then he focuses on crafting whole paragraphs—with attention to cadence, consistency of tone, sentence transitions, and paragraph length. In a fun, comprehensive guide, Yagoda lays out the simple steps we can all take to make our writing more effective, more interesting—and just plain better.