The book ends with a competent grammar handbook that is outlined inside the back cover. A good grammar handbook is as essential as a dictionary, although of course one has to learn how to use it—by reading it cover-to-cover, if necessary. I have read many, which is why I have become so intolerant of grammarians' hubris in any form. But the good handbooks are marvelous. I think the best stand-alone handbook is Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors's The New St. Martin's Handbook. In addition to the chapters on grammar, it offers a very nice ...