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58th out of 65 books
—
40 voters
Ascent of the A-Word: Assholism, the First Sixty Years
It first surfaced in the gripes of GIs during World War II and was captured early on by the typewriter of a young Norman Mailer. Within a generation it had become a basic notion of our everyday moral life, replacing older reproaches like lout and heel with a single inclusive category––a staple of country outlaw songs, Neil Simon plays, and Woody Allen movies. Feminists mad...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
August 14th 2012
by PublicAffairs
(first published August 1st 2012)
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Lots of current examples, across many areas. (day to day, music, politicos, military, etc)
notes:
xvi..read Dear As*hole, 101 tear out letters
1..cavuto first to be called a-hole on Fox
6..conservatives..race talk is just the collateral effect of free-floating outrage that seizes opportunistically on any inimical attribute that comes to hand.
8..partisans think of themselves as in the biz of infuriating the a-holes on the other side
112..larry david never misses an opp. to remonstrate indignantly w/th...more
notes:
xvi..read Dear As*hole, 101 tear out letters
1..cavuto first to be called a-hole on Fox
6..conservatives..race talk is just the collateral effect of free-floating outrage that seizes opportunistically on any inimical attribute that comes to hand.
8..partisans think of themselves as in the biz of infuriating the a-holes on the other side
112..larry david never misses an opp. to remonstrate indignantly w/th...more
It is delightful that a respected linguist would take up the challenge of writing about an inelegant word that has become a staple of our spoken language.
Although it is not surprising as his other books including Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show and Going Nucular: Language, Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times, Ascent of the A-...more
Although it is not surprising as his other books including Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show and Going Nucular: Language, Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times, Ascent of the A-...more
That's right, a linguist has pinned down the history of the usage of asshole, from it's first appearance in print in 1945 (and in a novel, Norman Mailer's, in 1948--to describe Lt. Dove--"A Cornell man, a Deke, a perfect asshole.") Since then, we're in pretty firm consensus about who an asshole is and when to use it as a descriptor, as shown in actual scholarly tests. Assholes act from entitled glee and seem to get a kick out of doing it, and the reaction is always a mix of indignant contempt, u...more
Ascent of the A-Word’s restraint is laudable; for what is ostensibly a book about assholes, Nunberg deftly avoids being mired in snark. As he puts it, “Snark tries to be quippy and droll...but it’s essentially cynical and destructive, asking the reader to share a sense of superiority to its target, often by appealing to familiar prejudices.” The book is filled with interesting vignettes that illustrate how comprehensive and vital asshole has become to the modern lexicon:
A friend calls to tell y...more
Well...that was not at all what I expected.
Given the title and celebrity pictures on the cover, I was expecting a humorous look at some of the more egregious examples of said behaviour.
Instead, this book provides a linguistical analysis of the rise of the titular term in common usage, teasing out the differences in nuance between this versus other oft used terms of endearment, and delving into the increasing prevalence of said affliction in public, and particularly political, discourse.
It was ac
...more
I was excited about this book when I saw a Slate write up on it. So excited, in fact, that I got a copy as a gift for a friend of mine, then got my own. I hope he doesn't think I'm an asshole after reading this review, because it wasn't all that great. While the premise is good, it is incredibly sloppy in its presentation, and maybe should have been edited down. Oftentimes it reads like a series of essays rather than a cohesive whole, and this leads to lots of repetition. As an example, the whol...more
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 m...more
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 m...more
Nunberg gets a slow start but by the time he dispenses with the throat clearing and hits the sections about the a-holes in politics, this book soars. A review of the first forty years of a-holes wasn't really needed.. If you find it excruciating to even be AROUND that guy..you'll find this big cringe book like watching THE OFFICE with footnotes. Nunberg shreds his way through the sanctimony of the Left and the Right and the academics in between, then starts in on The Donald. Sure, Trump is a fat...more
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 b...more
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 b...more
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.
I love Mr. Numberg's essays on NPR but found this book too serious, almost pendantic, in its examination of one of my favorite words. I did enjoy learning its derivation, from arshole and think kindly of Geoffrey when I run across it in all the English/Scottish mysteries I've been into recently.
An interesting cultural/linguistic exploration of "asshole"--the concept and the idea-- in modern American society. This is a serious composition on the word without being too stuffy or academic. Credible and well researched, engaging and accessible. A good reference and a fun read.
Picked this up after work and finished it in 2 hours. Maybe it's the context of the book being about a curse word but this was a smooth and fun read. I would highly recommend picking this up. Best random by chance purchase in a while.
A really interesting take on a surprisingly descriptive swear word. My takeaway boils down to, "you can't call someone an asshole without being an asshole yourself." A very good read!
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.
Nov 08, 2012
Julie
marked it as to-read
I heard about this book on the Slate Lexicon Valley podcast. The podcast is great and the interview with this author was really fun and interesting.
Another book I went into with high hopes and expectations, but came out with only mild interest. In the spirit of "On Bullshit," by Harry Frankfurt, the book examines the history of the use of the A-word, and the evolution of its meaning and perception. It was interesting to find that the use of the word is a relatively new phenomenon, and the review of its various uses is rather thorough, but it's not a book that is going to amuse you on every page; more of a quasi-scholarly review of a not-so-...more
As heard on the NPR Books podcast.
Nunberg ties words to rudeness in a way that is interesting and logical, not merely a diatribe against the other.
Find this book at Kennedy Library
I have liked what I have read by this author in the past.
Interesting to learn how my favorite descriptive really was the cultural phenomena of the '70's.
Slow in some places. Ultimately an interesting read.
Fascinating at first, but lost me.
Eh.
There are parts of this book that are interesting, especially those that are historical. The portions dedicated to the assholism of current politics are not. The author tries to stay even-handed but does not succeed.
All told, probably not worth the effort to get through, even if it's a welcome break from weightier reading.
There are parts of this book that are interesting, especially those that are historical. The portions dedicated to the assholism of current politics are not. The author tries to stay even-handed but does not succeed.
All told, probably not worth the effort to get through, even if it's a welcome break from weightier reading.
Took me a week to read a mere 44 pages and each one was a slog. I mean, a book like this should at least try to be fun, right (I've seen it done for topics as mundane as chemistry, so I don't think I'm asking too much). So let's just say I'm disinterested in continuing to suffer through the author's endless unfun analysis.
disappointing read
An interesting and often entertaining cultural/historical/linguistic exploration of "asshole" as word, concept, and idea.
If a little academic (what do want when the author is a Berkley linguistics professor?)an interesting read.
an enjoyable read - made me think about swearing, civility, etc.
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Geoff Nunberg is a linguist and professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information in Berkeley, California, USA. He is also a frequent contributor to the National Public Radio program "Fresh Air".
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“Donald Trump comes closer than anyone else to being the archetype of the species; crossing genres, he exemplifies all the ways an asshole can capture our attention. (164-65)”
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1 person liked it
“Still, to paraphrase what John Stuart Mill said about the stupidity of the Tories, while not all people who claim to be politically incorrect are assholes, it's exactly the sort of thing an asshole is apt to say. (183)”
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1 person liked it
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