ANN: New Book: Programming in Python 3

[rdmurray at bitdance.com]

Quoth Steven D'Aprano <steve at REMOVE-THIS-cybersource.com.au>:
>The second exception is if the word ends with an S. In British English,
>you put the apostrophe after the S:
>
>Thomas' approach is wholly practical.
>
>In American English, they often (but not always) add an extra S:
>
>Thomas's approach is wholly practical.
>
>which in my opinion is logical but ugly and should be avoided.

I disagree.  For indicating the possessive of the plural ("the books'
spines were damaged), putting the apostrophe after makes perfect sense.
However, when a word like "Thomas" is made possessive in American English,
it is pronounced differently (eg: "Thomases").  In that case, spelling
it Thomas's makes it read more like it sounds.  So you may find it ugly,
but I find it reads better to my ear :)

--RDM