If The Chicago Manual of Style is a little too expensive or unwieldy, or your needs are not quite so detail-oriented, this manual makes for a nice alternative. It's not a book about writing; it is a style guide, starting with punctuation, capitals, and abbreviations and culminating in typography, printing, and binding. Sandwiched between are chapters on preparing scientific material for publication, dealing with foreign-language extracts, and creating tables and graphs. Footnotes, bibliographies, indexes, and the editing process also get their due. A much-revised edition of Webster's Standard American Style Manual, this is a great resource for students, writers, and professionals alike. --Jane Steinberg

Since 1937. Merriam-Webster is America's foremost publisher of language-related reference works. The company publishes a diverse array of print and electronic products, including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition – America's best-selling desk dictionary – and Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster can be considered the direct lexicographical heir of Noah Webster. In 1843, the company bought the rights to the 1841 edition of Webster's magnum opus, An American Dictionary of the English Language, Corrected and Enlarged. At the same time, they secured the rights to create revised editions of the work. Since that time, Merriam-Webster editors have carried forward Noah Webster's work, creating some of the most widely used and respected dictionaries and reference books in the world.