Deck is a man on a mission. From greasy spoon menus to national park signs,
he and his cohorts (including co-author Herson) road trip around the nation
looking for, and attempting to correct, spelling mistakes, misplaced
apostrophes, and other small but apparently significant abuses to the English
language. While Deck and friends approach their trip with a good sense of humor,
early chapters feel prosaic. Before departing Deck contemplates the "madness"
of the endeavor. Is correct commas from a car really all that wild? And surely
we could have done without the litany of bear-related pet names Deck's girlfriend
often employs when addressing him. Given that most readers drawn to this book will
already share the authors' penchant for consistent and "proper" language, more
substantial exploration of their evolving motivation would have been stimulating.
Deck and Herson speed past questions of race, class, dialect, and education that
their quest inherently raises. While the moments of human interaction run from
tender to hostile, the end result doesn't add up to more than the sum of its
anecdotes. Though the many snapshots included (often in the "before and after"
vein, showing the fruits of their labor) add welcome humor.

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