{"product_id":"the-story-of-aint-america-its-language-and-the-most-controversial-dictionary-ever-published-isbn-9780062027498","title":"The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published","description":"\u003cp\u003e“It takes true brilliance to lift the arid tellings of lexicographic fussing into the readable realm of the thriller and the bodice-ripper….David Skinner has done precisely this, taking a fine story and honing it to popular perfection.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman\u003cp\u003eThe Story of Ain’t by David Skinner is the captivating true chronicle of the creation of Merriam Webster’s Third New International Dictionary in 1961, the most controversial dictionary ever published. Skinner’s surprising and engaging, erudite and witty account will enthrall fans of Winchester’s The Professor and the Madman and The Meaning of Everything, and The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs, as it explores a culture in transition and the brilliant, colorful individuals behind it. The Story of Ain’t is a smart, often outrageous, and altogether remarkable tale of how egos, infighting, and controversy shaped one of America’s most authoritative language texts, sparking a furious language debate that the late, great author David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest) once called “the Fort Sumter of the Usage Wars.”  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Gripping Language Controversy:\u003c\/b\u003e Discover why the 1961 publication of \u003ci\u003eMerriam-Webster’s Third\u003c\/i\u003e was called a 'calamity' and sparked a national debate over the very soul of the English language.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe History of the English Language:\u003c\/b\u003e Go behind the scenes of dictionary making to meet the brilliant, colorful, and warring personalities who fought to define how Americans speak.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePrescriptivism vs. Descriptivism:\u003c\/b\u003e Explore the central battle between traditionalists who believe a dictionary should prescribe correct usage and the modern linguists who argue it must only describe the language as it’s actually used.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAmerican Cultural History:\u003c\/b\u003e A compelling slice of mid-century American history, this chronicle reveals how cultural shifts, world wars, and changing social norms fueled the 'Usage Wars.'\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003eCreated by the most respected American publisher of dictionaries and supervised by editor Philip Gove, Webster's Third broke with tradition, adding thousands of new words and eliminating \"artificial notions of correctness,\" basing proper usage on how language was actually spoken. The dictionary's revolutionary style sparked what David Foster Wallace called \"the Fort Sumter of the Usage Wars.\" Critics bayed at the dictionary's permissive handling of ain't. Literary intellectuals such as Dwight Macdonald believed the abandonment of the old standard represented the unraveling of civilization.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEntertaining and erudite, \u003cem\u003eThe Story of Ain't \u003c\/em\u003edescribes a great societal metamorphosis, tracing the fallout of the world wars, the rise of an educated middle class, and the emergence of America as the undisputed leader of the free world, and illuminating how those forces shaped our language. Never before or since has a dictionary so embodied the cultural transformation of the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Skinner is good on the development of 20th-century linguistics and on the interplay between America’s language and its sense of itself.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An engrossing account of the continuing ruckus over \u003ci\u003eWebster’s Third New International Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“…comprehensive and evenhanded, and written in a clear and jaunty style…What in less skilled hands might have been arid and parochial in David Skinner’s becomes a lively account of a subject of interest to anyone concerned about the English language in America.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeekly Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[Skinner] provides well-argued critiques of the orthodoxies that define language studies” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“...delightful new book on lexicography…Skinner leaves no doubt as to the importance of \u003ci\u003eWebster’s Third\u003c\/i\u003e as the game-changer in dictionary standards and the impetus for an American cultural metamorphosis.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“…spry cultural history” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHarper's\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Mr. Skinner weaves a true tale fascinating not just to linguists and lexicographers, but to anyone interested in the evolution of our language during a critical period in America’s History.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A highly entertaining, thoughtful new book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Skinner has written an entertaining book about a controversy that still lingers and throws light on how emotional our ties to language are….a funny and informative account.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eColumbus Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“…comprehensive and evenhanded, and written in a clear and jaunty style…What in less skilled hands might have been arid and parochial in David Skinner’s becomes a lively account of a subject of interest to anyone concerned about the English language in America.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeekly Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“David Skinner tells the tale of a great battle in the 1960s War Between the Real and the Ideal.  It was a conflict with realists laying claim to idealism and idealists asserting realism and vice versa.  Skinner makes it all clear.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eP.J. O'Rourke, New York Times bestselling author of Holidays in Heck and Don't Vote--It Just Encourages\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Story of Ain’t\u003c\/i\u003e is a book about words, the national character, and the inevitability of change.  And it’s so fun, you might not even realize that you’re joining the debate.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHillsdale Collegian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A cultural story as much as a linguistic one, teeming with colorful characters and big ideas, \u003ci\u003eThe Story of Ain’t\u003c\/i\u003e is a must read for anybody who loves language.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eToby Lester, author of Da Vinci's Ghost and The Fourth Part of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Skinner…offers a highly entertaining and intelligent re-creation of events surrounding the 1961 publication of \u003ci\u003eWebster’s Third New International Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e by G. \u0026amp; C. Merriam…a rich and absorbing exploration of the changing standards in American language and culture.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A fascinating, highly entertaining cultural history that will enchant an audience beyond word nerds....Skinner nimbly, concisely--and without academic dryness--traces the everyday changes that shaped what came out of Americans’ mouths and into our dictionaries.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A compelling reminder of the cultural significance of words and word-making.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An immensely entertaining history…Skinner manages to transform this somewhat arcane lexicographical dispute into a real page turner…Skinner ably and amusingly captures the hysterical tone of the bitter public quarrel while suggesting that it foreshadowed many of the arguments over values and standards that we’re still fighting about today.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAssociated Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Mr. Skinner does a fine job detailing the controversy that greeted \u003ci\u003eWebster’s Third\u003c\/i\u003e, but he is even stronger when describing the internal politics at Merriam and the mechanics of revising a dictionary.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The flap over \u003ci\u003eWebster’s Third\u003c\/i\u003e in 1961 was a never-to-be-repeated episode in American cultural history…. David Skinner tells it brilliantly…as he brings to life the odd cast of characters who played a role in the affair.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGeoffrey Nunberg, University of California at Berkeley, emeritus chair of the American Heritage Dictionary usage panel, language commentator, \"Fresh Air,\" NPR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It takes true brilliance to lift the arid tellings of lexicographic fussing into the readable realm of the thriller and the bodice-ripper. With his riveting account…David Skinner has done precisely this, taking a fine story and honing it to popular perfection.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSimon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A fascinating account of a major paradigm shift in the American language, when a group of bold lexicographers decided to tell it like it is and causing a huge cultural rumpus.  This is more than just a story about a new edition of a dictionary.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristopher Buckley, New York Times bestselling author of They Eat Puppies, Don't They? and Thank You for Smoking\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888012816613,"sku":"NP9780062027498","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062027498.jpg?v=1730227955","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-story-of-aint-america-its-language-and-the-most-controversial-dictionary-ever-published-isbn-9780062027498","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}