Originally written by William Strunk Jr. in 1918, 'The Elements of Style' is a comprehensive guide to writing in English. The book was later revised and expanded by E.B. White in 1959. It covers elementary rules of usage, principles of composition, matters of form, and commonly misused words and expressions. The guide is renowned for its emphasis on clear, concise, and vigorous writing, advising writers to omit needless words, use the active voice, and employ parallelism appropriately. The book has become a staple in U.S. high school and university composition classes and is widely regarded as one of the most influential non-fiction books written in English since 1923.
Peter Kaufman's "The Moving Image: A User's Manual" offers a comprehensive guide to understanding and utilizing video effectively. The book explores the history of video, its impact on various fields, and provides practical tools for creating, distributing, and archiving video content. It addresses crucial aspects like securing rights, developing distribution strategies, and handling citation and preservation. The book also serves as a valuable resource for scholars, educators, and publishers seeking to integrate video into their work. It aims to equip readers with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the evolving landscape of video media.
Video (television, film, the moving image generally) is today’s most popular information medium. Two-thirds of the world’s internet traffic is video. Americans get their news and information more often from screens and speakers than through any other means. The Moving Image: A User's Manual (MIT Press, 2025) is the first authoritative account of how we have arrived here, together with the first definitive manual to help writers, educators, and publishers use video more effectively.
Drawing on decades as an educator, publisher, and producer, MIT’s Peter Kaufman presents new tools, best practices, and community resources for integrating film and sound into media that matters. Kaufman describes video’s vital role in politics, law, education, and entertainment today, only 130 years since the birth of film. He explains how best to produce video, distribute it, clear rights to it, cite it, and, ultimately, archive and preserve it. With detailed guidance on producing and deploying video and sound for publication, finding and using archival video and sound, securing rights and permissions, developing distribution strategies, and addressing questions about citation, preservation, and storage—across the broadest spectrum of platforms, publications, disciplines, and formats—The Moving Image equips readers for the medium’s continued ascendance in education, publishing, and knowledge dissemination in the decades to come. And, modeled in part on Strunk and White’s classic, The Elements of Style, it’s also a highly enjoyable read.
Peter B. Kaufman is Senior Program Officer at MIT Open Learning. He is the author of The New Enlightenment and the Fight to Free Knowledge and founder of Intelligent Television, a video production company that works with cultural and educational institutions around the world.
Caleb Zakarin is editor at the New Books Network.
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