Craig,
I would recommend that you look at Joseph Williams' book Style: Ten
Lessons in Clarity and Grace (Pearson Longman) now in its 8th edition. 
What I like about this book is that Williams kind of pushes his advice
almost to the edge, which makes it a bit controversial and more fun to
discuss with students, who often bristle at his advice.  I also find it
interesting to discuss with students questions like "Is Williams being
prescriptivist?"  (For me, his first two chapters set the stage for
discussions of grammatical prescriptivism in relation to Williams' own
advice.)  Another interesting question his book raises for me is "Do two
stylistically different sentences really mean the same thing?"  For
example, when Williams rewrites passages from James Fenimore Cooper, or 
from the sociologist Talcott Parsons, or philosopher and former university
president Myles Brand, are we reading Cooper, Parsons, and Brand or
Williams?  Is Williams actually expressing the same ideas as these writers
expressed?  Finally, I appreciate the chance to discuss ethics and style
(Williams' last chapter).  I am not recommending this book because I agree
fully with Williams, but because his approach provides many opportunities
for critical inquiry with students.  An interesting counter-point to
Williams would be Richard Lanham's Style: An Anti-textbook.

--Mike

R. Michael Medley, Ph.D.
Director Intensive English Program/ Professor of English
Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA 22802
[log in to unmask]  (540) 432-4051

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