I consulted many books and several internet sites to help me to write this book. Some of the following are referenced within the book, others are not. This is a list of my own recommendations, but there are many other excellent examples too.
Amis, K. (1997) The King's English. London: HarperCollins.
Kingsley Amis was himself an excellent writer who had strong, often controversial, views. This book doesn't pull any punches, but does encourage us to steer an appropriate course between the sloppy and overly punctilious.
Burchfield, R. (ed.) The New Fowler's Modern English Usage, third edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
There are several editions of this classic reference book. There are debates about whether this edition preserves the ethos of Fowler's original work. It both records the changing uses of English and makes recommendations for 'correct' usage.
Burt, A. (2004) Quick Solutions to Common Errors in English. Oxford: How to Books Ltd.
There are many mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar that students make repeatedly. Burt lists them alphabetically and offers useful tips on getting them right.
Chambers Dictionary (2003) Edinburgh: Chambers.
Chambers is my favourite dictionary, but this is a personal choice and there are many other good ones.
Collinson, D., Kirkup, G., Kyd, R. and Slocombe, L. (1992) Plain English, second edn. Buckingham: Open University Press.
There are some useful quizzes and advice on typical problems in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Crystal, D. (1987) The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This is the edition referenced in Chapter 7; a later one is available. It is a fascinating book, so it can be distracting.
Gowers, E. (1973) (Revised by Sir Bruce Fraser) The Complete Plain Words. London: HMSO.
This is a classic book for civil servants to encourage them to write clearly. It is itself well-written and contains some lovely examples.
Kahn, J. (1985) (ed.) The Right Word at the Right Time. London: The Readers Digest Association Ltd.
I bought this book in a second hand bookshop a few years ago and have found it invaluable as a reference book and also a source of diverting articles – e.g. on 'English around the world'. I was interested to see that Palmer also references it.