{"product_id":"the-story-of-aint-paperback","title":"The Story of Ain't - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDavid Skinner\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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....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\/p\u003e\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. Skinner's surprising and engaging, erudite 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. \u003cem\u003eThe Story of Ain't\u003c\/em\u003e 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 (\u003cem\u003eInfinite Jest\u003c\/em\u003e) once called \"the Fort Sumter of the Usage Wars.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.86 x 7.98 x 5.31 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 27, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51759302148384,"sku":"9780062027498","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/5cdd697f79a3de785375a0e9b1443316.webp?v=1780148637","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-story-of-aint-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}