{"product_id":"story-of-aint-america-its-language-and-the-most-controversial-dictionary-ever-published","title":"Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTitle: \u003c\/b\u003eStory of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor: \u003c\/b\u003eDavid Skinner\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN: \u003c\/b\u003e9780062027467\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/b\u003eHarper\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished: \u003c\/b\u003e2012\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding: \u003c\/b\u003eHardcover\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage: \u003c\/b\u003eEnglish\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdition: \u003c\/b\u003eFirst Edition\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Note: \u003c\/b\u003eExcellent, unmarked copy with little wear and tight binding. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher Description: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\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.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Simon Winchester, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eThe Professor and the Madman\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Story of Ain't\u003c\/em\u003e by David Skinner is the captivating true chronicle of the creation of \u003cem\u003eMerriam Webster's Third New International Dictionary\u003c\/em\u003e in 1961, the most controversial dictionary ever published. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCreated by the most respected American publisher of dictionaries and supervised by the editor Philip Gove, \u003cem\u003eWebster's Third\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\" Editors and scholars howled for Gove's blood, calling him an enemy of clear thinking, a great relativist who was trying to sweep the English language into chaos. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSkinner's surprising and witty account will enthrall fans of Winchester's \u003cem\u003eThe Professor and the Madman\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Meaning of Everything\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Know-It-All\u003c\/em\u003e by A.J. Jacobs, as it explores a culture in transition and the brilliant, colorful individuals behind it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEntertaining and erudite, \u003cem\u003eThe Story of Ain't\u003c\/em\u003e describes a great societal metamorphosis, revealing the fallout of the world wars, the rise of an educated middle class, the emergence of America as the undisputed leader of the free world, and 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\n\u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published | David Skinner | Hardcover | 9780062027467 | Used: Like New | Literary Criticism 1657068","offer_id":48742224330904,"sku":"1657068","price":7.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0492\/1609\/4360\/files\/61SAAj5dHbL.jpg?v=1773850200","url":"https:\/\/roundaboutbookstore.com\/products\/story-of-aint-america-its-language-and-the-most-controversial-dictionary-ever-published","provider":"Roundabout Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}