{"product_id":"gossip-the-untrivial-pursuit-isbn-9780547844596","title":"Gossip: The Untrivial Pursuit","description":"\u003cp\u003eGossip 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten in his trademark erudite and witty style, \u003ci\u003eGossip \u003c\/i\u003ecaptures the complexity of this immensely entertaining subject.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"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... \u003cstrong\u003eAmusing and serious in equal measures, Epstein grants readers the pleasurable company of a master observer of humanity’s foibles\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cem\u003eKirkus\u003c\/em\u003e, starred \"\u003cstrong\u003eDelectable firsthad anecdotes and portraits...add to the pleasures of this serious appraisal.\u003c\/strong\u003e 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 \u003cstrong\u003edisquieting and delightful\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e  \"[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].\" -\u003cem\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890165084389,"sku":"NP9780547844596","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780547844596.jpg?v=1730232668","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/gossip-the-untrivial-pursuit-isbn-9780547844596","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}