Preface to the third edition -- Preface to second edition -- Preface to first edition -- Acknowledgments -- List of essay entries -- List of abbreviations -- Pronunciation guide -- Key to the language-change index -- Essay: Making peace in the language wars -- Essay: The ongoing struggles of garlic-hangers -- Modern American usage -- Glossary of grammatical, rhetorical, and other language-related terms -- A timeline of books on usage -- Select bibliography -- Select index of writers quoted or mentioned

A guide to proper American English word usage, grammar, pronunciation, and style features examples of good and bad usage from the media