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Gossip : The Untrivial Pursuit by Joseph Epstein (2012, Trade Paperback)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarperCollins

ISBN-10054784459X

ISBN-139780547844596

eBay Product ID (ePID)17038420061

Product Key Features

Book TitleGossip : the Untrivial Pursuit

Number of Pages256 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicGender Studies, Popular Culture, Anthropology / General

Publication Year2012

GenreSocial Science

AuthorJoseph Epstein

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight7.9 Oz

Item Length8 in

Item Width5.3 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

Reviews"While Epstein's ruminations on how we became a nation of gawkers ring painfully true, it is his willingness to analyze delectable tidbits regarding authors, intellectuals and other luminaries that enlivens the narrative... Amusing and serious in equal measures, Epstein grants readers the pleasurable company of a master observer of humanity's foibles ." - Kirkus , starred" Delectable firsthad anecdotes and portraits...add to the pleasures of this serious appraisal. Readers who share Epstein's concern about gossip's power 'to invade privacy, to wreck lives' and his reluctance to wholly condemn it 'because I enjoy it too much' will find him disquieting and delightful ." - Publishers Weekly, "While Epstein's ruminations on how we became a nation of gawkers ring painfully true, it is his willingness to analyze delectable tidbits regarding authors, intellectuals and other luminaries that enlivens the narrative... Amusing and serious in equal measures, Epstein grants readers the pleasurable company of a master observer of humanity's foibles ." - Kirkus , starred" Delectable firsthad anecdotes and portraits...add to the pleasures of this serious appraisal. Readers who share Epstein's concern about gossip's power 'to invade privacy, to wreck lives' and his reluctance to wholly condemn it 'because I enjoy it too much' will find him disquieting and delightful ." - Publishers Weekly "[Epstein has] a literary tone that makes you think of venerable Manhattan editors with mid-Atlantic accents...like a good stand-up comedian (or a discoverer), he inspires confidence [in his writing]." - Wall Street Journal, "While Epsteine(tm)s ruminations on how we became a nation of gawkers ring painfully true, it is his willingness to analyze delectable tidbits regarding authors, intellectuals and other luminaries that enlivens the narrative... Amusing and serious in equal measures, Epstein grants readers the pleasurable company of a master observer of humanitye(tm)s foibles ." - Kirkus , starred" Delectable firsthad anecdotes and portraits...add to the pleasures of this serious appraisal. Readers who share Epstein's concern about gossip's power 'to invade privacy, to wreck lives' and his reluctance to wholly condemn it 'because I enjoy it too much' will find him disquieting and delightful ." - Publishers Weekly

Dewey Edition22

Dewey Decimal302.2/4

Table Of ContentPrefacexi Part I: Private Gossip 1. How It Works1 2. Feasible, Uncheckable, Deeply Damning11 3. When Is It All Right to Gossip?21 4. In the Know31 Great Gossips of the Western World, I37 5. The Truth Defense48 6. The Gossip Transaction54 7. Need Gossip Be Trivial?60 8. Pure Speculation65 Part II: Public Gossip 9. Gossip Goes Public73 10. Gossip Goes Center Ring80 11. Shooting at Celebrities90 Great Gossips of the Western World, II103 12. Antediluvian Gossip114 13. Literary Gossip126 14. Gay Gossip137 Great Gossips of the Western World, III149 Part III: Private Become Public 15. Caught in the Net161 16. Whores of Information176 17. Snoopin' and Scoopin'187 Great Gossips of the Western World, IV197 18.Too Much Even of Kreplach211 A Bibliographical Note219 Index223

SynopsisA juicy, incisive exploration of gossip in all its forms--from celebrity rumors to literary romans a clef , from personal sniping to political slander--by one our "great essayists" (David Brooks), Gossip is no trivial matter; despite its reputation, Epstein argues, it is an eternal and necessary human enterprise. Proving that he himself is a master of the art, Epstein serves up delightful mini-biographies of the Great Gossips of the Western World, along with many choice bits from his own experience. He also makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned best--clever, mocking, a great private pleasure--to a corrosive new-school version, thanks to the reach of the mass media and the Internet. Written in his trademark erudite and witty style, Gossip captures the complexity of this immensely entertaining subject.