Title: Dumbed-down English for people who can't write
Product review: This book advocates the use of a Procrustean bed to turn every kind of writing, good and bad, into mediocre but understandeable prose. The advice offered ranges from avoiding use of the passive voice, to reducing the word count of sentences, avoiding double negatives, using shorter words (i.e., using Germanic roots over Latin roots, say, "begin" over "initiate"), etc. Incidentally, all these techniques were used in Orwell's 1984's "Newspeak" if I remember correctly. I have no doubt many people will benefit from the treatment - just not the kind of people who should do much writing. It's not that overwrought writing does not get in the way of effective communication (a double negative!). It's just that good writing can (and should) be achieved by hard work and practice, and not by the shortcut of dumbing down one's style.
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