The Elements of Style (First Edition) - Couverture souple

William Strunk published The Elements of Style in 1918 "to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention ... on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated." Since then, this "forty-three-page summation of the case for cleanliness, accuracy, and brevity in the use of English" has done just that, and has become essential reading at the start of term for the well-prepared student.

William Strunk, Jr. (1869-1946) was professor of English at Cornell University. He wrote The Elements of Style back in 1918. He attended meetings of The Manuscript Club, which was "an informal Saturday-night gathering of students and professors interested in writing." There he met E.B. White, who would later revise and expand The Elements of Style and propel it to bestseller status.