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Title: A Perfect Edition for the Pre-Schooler or Developmentally Challenged Adult
Review: The Elements of Style is, hands down, my favorite book of English usage. It is as pure and simple and perfect as a reference book can be. That is, simple, not simple-minded.This much lauded illustrated edition, with its simple-minded illustrations, is yet another sad example of the dumbing down of western culture. In Will Strunk's time this sort of treatment, if it existed at all, would have been intended for children below the age of six or seven. It's current target reader is apparently the developmentally challenged adult. While we all sympathize with those struggling with learning disabilities, it is pathetic that such a degradation of a classic work is received with respect. My four year old grandson finds the illustrations to be as he says, "pretty stupid". Of course, he is a child of normal intelligence, and is thus at a critical disadvantage in a world designed for the lowest common denominator.
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