The Chicago Manual of Style

Those who work with words know how dramatically publishing has changed in the past decade, with technology now informing and influencing every stage of the writing and publishing process. In creating the fifteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, the renowned editorial staff of the University of Chicago Press drew on direct experience of these changes, as well as on the recommendations of the Manual's first-ever advisory board, composed of a distinguished group of scholars, authors, and professionals from a wide range of publishing and business environments.

Every aspect of coverage has been examined and brought up to date--from publishing formats to editorial style and method, from documentation of electronic sources to book design and production, and everything in between. In addition to books, The Chicago Manual of Style now also treats journals and electronic publications. All chapters are written for the electronic age, with advice on how to prepare and edit manuscripts online, handle copyright and permissions issues raised by new technologies, use the latest methods of preparing mathematical copy, and cite electronic and online sources.

A new chapter covers American English grammar and usage, outlining the grammatical structure of English, showing how to put words and phrases together to achieve clarity, and identifying common errors. The two chapters on documentation have been reorganized and updated: the first now describes the two main systems preferred by Chicago, and the second discusses specific types of sources and subject matter, with examples tailored to both systems. Coverage of design and manufacturing has been streamlined to reflect what writers and editors need to know about current procedures. And, to make it easier to search for information, each numbered paragraph throughout the Manual is now introduced by a descriptive heading.

What would become The Chicago Manual of Style began in the 1890s as a single sheet of typographic fundamentals, prepared by a proofreader at the University of Chicago Press as a guide for the University community. That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and the pamphlet grew into a book--the first edition of the Manual of Style, published in 1906. Nearly a century later the Manual is in use in homes and offices around the world.

Clear, concise, and replete with commonsense advice, the fifteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style offers the wisdom of a hundred years of editorial practice while including a wealth of new topics and updated perspectives. For anyone who works with words, in any medium, this continues to be the one reference book you simply must have.

What’s New in the Fifteenth Edition of The Chicago Manual of Style:

* Updated material throughout to reflect current style, technology, and professional practice

* New coverage of journals and electronic publications

* Comprehensive new chapter on American English grammar and usage by Bryan A. Garner (author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage)

* Updated and rewritten chapter on preparing mathematical copy

* Reorganized and updated chapters on documentation, including guidance on citing electronic sources

* Streamlined coverage of current design and production processes, with a glossary of key terms

* New diagrams of the editing and production processes for both books and journals, keyed to chapter discussions

* Descriptive headings on all numbered paragraphs for ease of reference

* Companion website at Chicagomanualofstyle.org

This edition of the Manual of Style includes a number of improvements and additions. The Chicago manual has finally spoken on citing electronic publications, and even includes advice on assembling manuscripts for electronic journals. Flow charts in the back give broad overviews of the publishing process. The index seems easier to use than the index in the last edition, and the chapters are arranged more thoughtfully. Most striking upon first picking up the 15th edition is its stunning graphic design--not only is it beautiful, but it helps readability by highlighting examples and making sections easier to find. The manual includes some information on editing foreign-language publications. As always, the manual includes some very subtle humor in its sentence structure, verbiage, and choice of examples.

The Chicago Manual of Style is also equiped to be an arbiter of many a college dining hall argument on language, with extensive chapters on grammar and usage.

I heartily recommend the Chicago Manual of Style to anyone who ever finds himself with a question on some detail of English style.


Very fine resource   May 18, 2004
sadhana444 (Anchorage, AK United States)
53 out of 53 found this review helpful

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is without question my favorite style manual. The fact that this manual is one of the best of its kind does not seem to be in question for most people. What does seem to be in question is whether or not the CMOS is a fit for an individual's needs. What also seems to be in question is whether or not the 15th edition is an improvement from the 14th edition.

In terms of fit, I would say that the CMOS is probably a good fit for advanced writers, editors, and publishers; however, most of these advanced professionals already know this. College students might be better served by a style manual specific to their discipline - for example, The Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook for English students, or the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for psychology students. Beginning students might also be better served by a general handbook (such as The Little, Brown Handbook or The Holt Handbook). For office workers, administrative assistants, and secretaries, a better fit might be "The Gregg Reference Manual," which has an emphasis on business correspondence. In each of these cases; however, the CMOS would be a useful backup reference.

In regard to the editions, my overall opinion is that the 15th edition is a significant improvement in content to the 14th, and well worth the purchase. The 13th edition was published in 1982, the 14th in 1993, and this 15th in 2003, so the CMOS is updated approximately every 10 years, which feels like a good revision pace to me. The content revisions are summarized on the back cover, and I'll list them at the end of this review.

In addition to content, the layout of the new edition is also revised. There is a bit of risk and daring in using a light blue font to distinguish examples within paragraphs, and in using a new font for numbering. The light blue text is a bit hard to read at times, but for the main, it seems to add clarity. The daring numbering font is a bit less clear than the last edition, but probably only a keen font connoisseur would even notice.

Content revisions:

- Updated Materials throughout to reflect current style, technology, and professional practice

- New coverage of journals and electronic publications

- Comprehensive new chapter on American English grammar and usage by Bryan A. Garner (author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage)

- Updated and rewritten chapter on preparing mathematical copy

- Reorganized and updated chapters on documentation, including guidance on citing electronic sources

- Streamlined coverage of current design and production processes, with a glossary of key terms

- New diagrams of the editing and production process4es for both books and journals, keyed to chapter discussions

- Descriptive headings on all numbered paragraphs for ease of reference

- New expanded Web site with special tools and features for Manual users - www.chicagomanualofstyle.org


Simply the best; An absolute must for writers   September 18, 2003
R. Shaff (USA)
49 out of 53 found this review helpful

I've been passionate about writing for some time now and situations always seem to arise-where to put the hyphen-that must be dealt with properly. The new edition (15th) of THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE is the Bible for writers (I can't speak for editors or publishers but since this prize solves most writing conundrums, it must work well for those reviewing the written word). As I've used the 14th edition for some time, I was somewhat dubious about giving up my well-oiled saftey blanket. Keep the safety blanket and buy the 15th also. The 15th implements a variety of changes befitting current wisdom; a must in today's literary world. As has been the modus operandi for some time now, the 15th edition of CMS is still in the relatively unattractive orange dust jacket but has been "brightened" inside with two ink tones. Contrary to another reviewer, I find the ink offset to be quite helpful.

One of the more useful additions to the 15th CMS is the paramenters addressed relative to citations from electronic publications. In the internet age, this is a must for technical and non-fiction writers. Additionally and as mandated by most interpretations of copyright law, whenever one draws from another's work, one must provide documentation. CMS follows a basic documentation style for either footnotes or endnotes. This documentation would include direct quotes, paraphrases or someone else's words or ideas, and facts and figures.

As a writer of technical articles, I use this manual as a guide through the morass of style. An article can be poorly written but sparkle with style and grammar. This article will, at the very least, garner some respect. A kick-bum article delving into the meat of a timely subject, yet penned with poor grammar and distasteful style, will be look upon with disdain.

If you're going to write, spend the bucks for CMS. It will be the best investment relative to broad acceptance of your published words.


An Essential Guide   September 12, 2003
Craig L. Howe (Darien, CT United States)
76 out of 85 found this review helpful

If you work with words, this is the reference book you must own. Updated approximately once a decade, the 15th edition is the most significant revision I can remember.

Publishing has changed dramatically and the Manual has changed with it. The editors promise that every aspect of their coverage has been examined and updated. In addition to books, the Manual also provides guidelines for journals and electronic publications.

There is a new chapter on American Grammar usage and usage. Design and manufacturing coverage has been streamlined to reflect current procedures.

A major improvement is the adding of descriptive headings to each numbered paragraph. This results in the Manual easier to search.

If you are looking for clear, concise advice, the 15th edition is reference stylebook you must own.


First great reference text of the 21st century   October 29, 2003
loce_the_wizard (Lilburn, GA USA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

The 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style is the first great reference text of the 21st century. Writers, researchers, indexers, proofreaders, editors, publishers, archivists, and educators will all find common ground in the collective wisdom found here.

Those already familiar with other incarnations of this guide will find that is still the authority on a multitude of topics. Most of my initial forays have been in the fifth chapter on grammar and usage, a chapter that exhaustively covers all the parts of speech and provides an excellent guide to word usage. A separate chapter covers all aspects of spelling and the distinctive treatment accorded many works, including compounds. If only the eighth chapter on terms and names could be passed into law, then maybe some of the nonsensical and false capitalization that is applied so rampantly to military, political, scientific, religious, geographic, and government names could be controlled. Still, this information provides those willing to take on the fight with plenty of ammo to do it unreservedly. Likewise, the sixth chapter on punctuation will vindicate language purists who insist (as I do) that we have to uphold our standards and rules for punctuation to avoid anarchy in our writing.

A chapter on numbers jumps right into the common fray about whether to use numerals or words, providing myriad examples and not displacing the use of common sense in certain instances. There are plenty of nitty-gritty details here: when to use the en dash with inclusive numbers; how to form plurals of numbers (no apostrophes need apply); what is the correct way to express currency. Chapter 14, which is one of the many sections that reflects how technology has advanced our options and choices regarding printed communications, is essential reading for those in the scientific and technology fields and offers details likely not found in other guides of this sort, such as listing fonts frequently used for mathematical symbols.

The chapters on references, documentation, manuscript preparation, and indexing will likely be touchstones for the next decade. In these chapters, as throughout this guide, the articulate discussions of principals, guidelines, and rules are augmented with examples. The examples reflect a wide mode of communications, from print to the Internet. A chapter on rights and permissions ought to be mandatory reading for all college students. It pretty much covers what is and is not legal without smothering one with legalese.

Appendix A: Design and Production is not for everyone, but I've always be intrigued by the whole process of making books from the first scribbled outline to the binding process, so I find it an interesting read. And if you need more information, a generous 15-page bibliography offers more resources.

This edition is easy to search and use. The typography is more modern and less tiring on the eyes though the light blue type can be hard to read. (Was this "nonrepro blue" used as a countermeasure against photocopying and scanning?) There is also a deft touch of humility here, as noted in the preface: "As always, most Chicago rules are guidelines not imperatives; where options are offered, the first is normally our preference."

As hard as it is to give up my well-thumbed, annotated, and tagged 14th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, I know that is well past time I retired it to sit along side my 13th edition. Too much has changed since the 14th edition was published, but not much has escaped the radar of those responsible for crafting this superb reference.