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The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time - Jeff Deck, Benjamin D. Herson
The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time
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The signs of the times are missing apostrophes. The world needed a hero, but how would an editor with no off-switch answer the call? For Jeff Deck, the writing was literally on the wall: “NO TRESSPASSING.” In that moment, his greater purpose became clear.  Dark hordes of typos had descended upon... show more
The signs of the times are missing apostrophes. The world needed a hero, but how would an editor with no off-switch answer the call? For Jeff Deck, the writing was literally on the wall: “NO TRESSPASSING.” In that moment, his greater purpose became clear.  Dark hordes of typos had descended upon civilization… and only he could wield the marker to defeat them. Recruiting his friend Benjamin and other valiant companions, he created the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL). Armed with markers, chalk, and correction fluid, they circumnavigated America, righting the glaring errors displayed in grocery stores, museums, malls, restaurants, mini-golf courses, beaches, and even a national park. Jeff and Benjamin championed the cause of clear communication, blogging about their adventures transforming horor into horror, it’s into its, and coconunut into coconut. But at the Grand Canyon, they took one correction too far: fixing the bad grammar in a fake Native American watchtower.  The government charged them with defacing federal property  and summoned them to court—with a typo-ridden complaint that claimed that they had violated “criminal statues.” Now the press turned these paragons of punctuation into “grammar vigilantes,” airing errors about their errant errand.. The radiant dream of TEAL would not fade, though.   Beneath all those misspelled words and mislaid apostrophes, Jeff and Benjamin unearthed deeper dilemmas about education, race, history, and how we communicate. Ultimately their typo-hunting journey tells a larger story not just of proper punctuation but of the power of language and literacy—and the importance of always taking a second look.From the Hardcover edition.
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Format: paperback
ISBN: 9780307591081 (0307591085)
Publisher: Broadway Books
Pages no: 288
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
Surrounded by Books
Surrounded by Books rated it
1.0 The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time
I really wanted to like this book, based on the premise. Two friends on road trip, correcting all the misspellings on signs and menus. Combining grammar with a buddy movie! Sure!But the book itself needed an editor for the sheer weight of the unnecessary adjectives and pretentious prose. I'm willing...
Osho
Osho rated it
An amusing cross-country sojourn to correct typos, including prosecution for unwittingly desecrating an historical sign. The tone wears on one in places, but I can't fault their intentions, and do admire their discussions of descriptive versus prescriptive linguistics.The first major typo I remember...
Books: A true story
Books: A true story rated it
4.0 The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time
I loved the writing style and the deeper things he found on the journey. It was funny, too.This book is also reviewed on my blog Books: A true story
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