Eats, Shoots & Leaves

The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

by Lynne Truss

Paperback, 209 pages

English language

Published Jan. 6, 2005 by Profile Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-86197-677-2
OCLC Number:: 62124334

View on OpenLibrary

(12 reviews)

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds and explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

So, punctuation really does matter, even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death. --back cover

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds and explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

So, punctuation really does matter, even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death. --back cover

17 editions

Stephanie Jane reviewed Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss

A bit dull

3 stars

I didn't read Eats, Shoots and Leaves when it was first published although I do remember the incredible hype surrounding its release. Now, over a decade later, I am left wondering what all the fuss was about. As a grammar stickler myself I do often wince at real howlers, but to be fussy to the extent that Truss claims to be? Life is surely too short?

The most interesting passages are where the history of the various punctuation marks and their uses are described. The fluidity of the English language is always fascinating to me. On the whole, however, I found this book to be just a little dull.