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Title: beware ...
Review: If you aren't well-versed in the Canon of Great Literature, then most all of the author's references -- and perhaps a good deal of what he has to say -- will be lost on you. There are a number of good, clearly stated ideas in this book, but after wading through three quarters of it, I have to say that there must be a better way. To wit, probably better than half of them can be had by reading the previous reviews and any one of a number of internet pages that address the common mistakes of beginning writers. If my knowledge of literature was as complete as Gardner assumes his readers' to be, I wouldn't need to read a book about writing ... Perhaps that's a good bit of Gardner's point, but I paid money for a book about how to write, not for a reading list. I'll be moving on to Burroway's "Writing Fiction" before I subject myself to the remainder of this snobbish morass. Esthetes only; mortals beware.
