{"product_id":"the-phone-book-isbn-9780399535932","title":"The Phone Book","description":"\u003cb\u003eRead Ammon Shea's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA surprising, lively, and rich history of that ubiquitous doorstop that most of us take for granted. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ammon Shea is not your typical thirtysomething book enthusiast. After reading the \u003ci\u003eOxford English Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e from cover to cover (and living to write about it in \u003ci\u003eReading the OED\u003c\/i\u003e), what classic, familiar, but little-read book would he turn to next? Yes, the phone book. With his signature combination of humor, curiosity, and passion for combing the dustbins of history, Shea offers readers a guided tour into the surprising, strange, and often hilarious history of the humble phone book. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From the first printed version in 1878 (it had fifty listings and no numbers) to the phone book's role in presidential elections, Supreme Court rulings, Senate filibusters, abstract art, subversive poetry, circus sideshows, criminal investigations, mental-health diagnoses, and much more, this surprising volume reveals a rich and colorful story that has never been told-until now.Ammon Shea is the author of two previous books on obscure words, \u003ci\u003eDepraved English\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eInsulting English\u003c\/i\u003e (written with Peter Novobatzky). He read his first dictionary, \u003ci\u003eMerriam Webster’s Second International\u003c\/i\u003e, ten years ago, and followed it up with the sequel, \u003ci\u003eWebster’s Third International\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.","brand":"Tarcher","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300234612965,"sku":"NP9780399535932","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780399535932.jpg?v=1767740953","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-phone-book-isbn-9780399535932","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}