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coleycole's review against another edition
4.0
an enjoyable read - made me think about swearing, civility, etc.
rramesh's review against another edition
4.0
Geoffrey Nunberg’s Ascent of the A-word (2012) is as much about crude language, as it about the concept, or the modern phenomenon it stands for, and the values it expresses.
Nunberg is a fine writer, and I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. Ascent of the A-word has a lot of political and cultural references, some from half a century ago, and while I won’t pretend that I got every single one of them, I’ll say that I found this book on insults rather educational.
Nunberg is a fine writer, and I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. Ascent of the A-word has a lot of political and cultural references, some from half a century ago, and while I won’t pretend that I got every single one of them, I’ll say that I found this book on insults rather educational.
onceandfuturelaura's review against another edition
3.0
Nunberg can write. His sentence structure is a thing of beauty.
This book explores 60 years of usage of the word "asshole," which is, I learn, a new entry into the scatalogical lexicon. Numberg suggests that the asshole is to us what the phony was to Holden Caufield; the social offender that captures a culture's attention, for good or for ill. He proposes Donald Trump as the definitive asshole who has captured our cultures attention, which once again makes me feel just a wee bit alienated from my culture as I hear "Donald Trump" and I stop listening.
Nunberg also suggests that what is fresh and special about the asshole as an appellation is that once someone is designated an asshole, it frees the rest of us to be an asshole back. Someone who has violated the social contract to whom we can violate it back.
Substantively, this troubles me. I strongly believe there is no them; there is only us. But Nunberg's hypothesis explains the conduct of a lot of good people I know and have worked with.
Anyhoo. There is much much more in this book that doesn't quite fit the theses (thesises?) I have proposed, so I may be wrong about what this book is about. On the other hand, Nunberg is a master of the segueway, so maybe this shouldn't trouble me.
A quick and fun read.
This book explores 60 years of usage of the word "asshole," which is, I learn, a new entry into the scatalogical lexicon. Numberg suggests that the asshole is to us what the phony was to Holden Caufield; the social offender that captures a culture's attention, for good or for ill. He proposes Donald Trump as the definitive asshole who has captured our cultures attention, which once again makes me feel just a wee bit alienated from my culture as I hear "Donald Trump" and I stop listening.
Nunberg also suggests that what is fresh and special about the asshole as an appellation is that once someone is designated an asshole, it frees the rest of us to be an asshole back. Someone who has violated the social contract to whom we can violate it back.
Substantively, this troubles me. I strongly believe there is no them; there is only us. But Nunberg's hypothesis explains the conduct of a lot of good people I know and have worked with.
Anyhoo. There is much much more in this book that doesn't quite fit the theses (thesises?) I have proposed, so I may be wrong about what this book is about. On the other hand, Nunberg is a master of the segueway, so maybe this shouldn't trouble me.
A quick and fun read.
sarahjsnider's review
1.0
A lot of this book was about the current political climate of incivility. Which, yeah, I know. I'm living it. So maybe future generations will find this a fascinating look at our present day, but I wasn't too into it. It was published by Public Affairs Press, so maybe I'm the asshole for not realizing that.
I also question the integrity of some of the research. Apparently, the charts came from Google Books searches. No Oxford English Dictionary? No study of oral speech? The author also states a bias toward "standard" usage, i.e., whites. It just seems really quickly put together.
I also question the integrity of some of the research. Apparently, the charts came from Google Books searches. No Oxford English Dictionary? No study of oral speech? The author also states a bias toward "standard" usage, i.e., whites. It just seems really quickly put together.
kwilson271's review
3.0
The perfect book for the word nerd and all enthusiasts of profanity, though he stretches his points out of recognition when he starts talking politics.
katytron's review
3.0
i liked this but the use of google searches to back up assertions about changes in language use just rubs me the wrong way a bit
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