Gets to be repetitive. The man had a great idea, but no good strategy by which to get it implemented. Too bad he didn't enlist common strugglers among those who wanted better shorthand and a more widely accepted universal Pidgin. And besides, I think English speakers rather revel in knowing that our language has plenty of oddities, and wouldn't necessarily want it all tidied up.

Of course we all know all the different sounds of 'ough' and that 'fish' can be spelled 'ghoti' - enuf! But what about this: With reckless inconsistency we write sweat and sweet, and then write whet and wheat, just the contrary."

Much of what Shaw explored is less relevant now that we have computers, word-processors and text-speak both, and that English has become pretty much the universal second language. But if you're a fan of GBS (My Fair Lady) or of language reform, this is an interesting enough read. I'll say 2.5 stars - don't hunt it down. ;)" ( )