I bought the original, and this one is even better. Very helpful.

If you can only buy one etiquette reference book, make it this one. Miss Manners is second to none; her knowledge is extensive, her instruction is flawless, and her tone is pointed yet compassionate.

Filled with thoughtful humor, gentle encouragement, and the best advice for almost any conceivable occasion or circumstance, this book is already a classic and will remain the standard for etiquette elucidation and prescription for the foreseeable future.

Highly recommended!

As a career reference librarian, I have answered probably several thousand inquiries from the public regarding the details of wedding invitations and condolence letters, and whether you're "allowed" to wear white shoes in months with an "R." Those are just "etiquette" questions and most of them I can answer from Emily Post or Amy Vanderbilt -- but for the rationale behind *manners,* I turn always to Judith Martin, the leading authority on civilized behavior for a quarter-century, combining sometimes starchy asperity with a home-grown love of American democracy and classlessness. Who else could lay out so lovingly the rules for a formal dinner ý la russe, followed by thoroughly sensible guidelines for the civilized use of cell phones, email, and instant-messaging? And you won't find her wishy-washing when it comes to inviting same-sex couples to dinner or organizing a shower for an unwed mother; to her, people are people and all are deserving of polite treatment, if not always respect. And her dry wit, as always, is a quotable marvel.

While this lovely volume may contain the answers to some outdated problems, I was thrilled to find the answer to my own out-dated question: Is it proper to wear a hat indoors, and if so, when and where? Miss Manners answers the question for all occasions, relieving me of potential social disgrace in an age where ladies now decline to wear hats and wouldn't have noticed any faux pas anyway...