Behind every punctuation mark there are a thousand stories, suggests the author of The Story of English in 100 Words and Spell It Out, who demonstrates here that the punctuation of English—while sometimes rational—is founded on arbitrariness and littered with oddities. Leading us through this minefield with wit, clarity, and common sense, David Crystal gives a fascinating account of the origin and progress of every kind of punctuation mark over one and a half millennia, and offers sound advice on how punctuation may be used to meet the needs of any occasion and context. Here too is a look at literary innovators in this ever-changing field, among them Jane Austen, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, e.e. cummings, and Cormac McCarthy.