Reviewed by Leo Herbert Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
lt has seemed to me that reviewing a book is often looked upon as a distasteful chore; one, however, that is necessary to a profes¬sion. For, in this way many professional readers could learn from one reviewer what new material that reviewer considers worth read¬ing. But, the material in this book is not new; and reviewing the book was not a chore—fact of the matter, it was a delightful assign-ment.
Divided into two major sections, the book deals with two distinct subjects: better writing, called “This Blessed Language,” and un-derstanding ethics, titled “The Ethics of a Profession.”
“This Blessed Language,” a group of 50 essays on writing good English, was originally printed in the Journal of Accountancy from April 1939 to January 1943, on a monthly basis, and off and on from then until March 1944. “The Ethics of a Profession,” printed in 1931 by the American Institute of Accountants, brought together for the first time in the profession’s history, a learned discussion of why the professional needed ethical standards.
Concerning “This Blessed Language,” the editor of the book says: “Richardson is aware of the stilted, formulaic style often found in business correspondence and urges instead sentences that are ‘brief, clear and euphonious.'” The principles for good writing, copiously illustrated, are just as applicable today as they were when he wrote the essays. Every now and then, while reading the essays, you will say to yourself: “Why haven’t I thought of this before?” I believe that if one reads and rereads the essays, many of the stated principles will help to improve one’s writing ability.
But, probably more important than only helping a teacher, the book can also be a help to his students. Almost every one of us has heard from practitioners that one of the greatest faults of our edu-cational process is the inability of students to write proper English. Since the essays are so delightful to read, I can see these essays being used as a valuable resource for students who may have some difficulty in writing. For, as I have said before, the basic principles apply today just as much as they did forty years ago.
The section, “The Ethics of a Profession,” however, probably can be used better in a classroom than the section, “This Blessed Lan¬guage.” Richardson discusses, in a fascinating manner, just why ethical standards should be applied in the profession of account-fng. Through the use of a young accountant as his hero, he explains why this young accountant should follow ethical standards. This section could be valuable reading material for graduate students in an auditing theory class or as a part of an undergraduate course dealing with ethics in auditing. The editor, Michael T. O’Neill, says; “Of the twelve ethical rules cited by Richardson in his 1931 Ethics of a Profession, the AICPA standards today still embody seven of them almost in the same language as the 1931 version.” Maybe Richardson did understand ethical standards after all.
By the way, do not forget to read the editor’s introduction to the man, Alphyon Perry Richardson, and his works. This introduction will help you understand why this man’s work was chosen as a clas¬sic to be reproduced for later generations.
