A witty and bestselling nonfiction book by Lynne Truss that celebrates the importance of punctuation in the English language.

The title comes from a famous joke about a panda:

"A panda walks into a café, eats, shoots, and leaves."

Without the comma, the meaning would be completely different. Using humor, anecdotes, and examples from everyday life, Truss explains how punctuation marks such as commas, apostrophes, semicolons, and dashes can dramatically affect meaning.

Far from being a dry grammar manual, the book is an entertaining exploration of language, communication, and the quirks of modern English usage. It became an international bestseller and is especially popular among readers who love words and writing.