by Herbert C. Morton (1994)
The publication of Webster's Third New International Dictionary in 1961 set off a storm of controversy both in the popular press and in scholarly journals that was virtually unprecedented in its scope and intensity. The New York Times ridiculed the new dictionary's alleged failure to label slang in a now-famous editorial that began, "A passel of double-domes at the G. & C. Merriam Company joint in Springfield, Mass., have been confabbing and yakking for twenty-seven years...and now they have finalized...a new edition of a swell and esteemed book.". The attack was joined by Life magazine, the Saturday Review, the Atlantic, the New Yorker, and other magazines and newspapers across the country. Critics charged that Webster's Third had abandoned its responsibility to uphold standards of good English and that it would encourage permissiveness in the teaching of English. Rejoinders by the dictionary's editor, Philip Babcock Gove, and sympathetic journalists and scholars had little effect. Herbert Morton tells the story from the beginning, drawing on new sources: Gove's papers, the files of the publisher, and interviews with former staff members and participants in the controversy. He describes how the Third Edition was planned and put together by Gove, where it went astray, and how it was misunderstood and misinterpreted by its detractors. Later assessments showed that its flaws were exaggerated. It has come to be regarded by virtually all language experts as one of the great dictionaries of our time. This is a very human story as well as the first full account of an extraordinary episode in the annals of lexicography. The issues it brought to the fore are still alive and will be of interest to all those fascinated by the English language and by how it is recorded in our dictionaries.
John Updike
A collection of the eloquent, insightful, and beautifully written prose works that Updike was compiling when he died in January 2009, this book opens with a self-portrait of the writer in winter--a Prospero who, though he fears his most dazzling performances are behind him, reveals himself in every sentence to be in deep conversation with the sources of his magic.
Jason Mellard
During the early 1970s, the nation's turbulence was keenly reflected in Austin's kaleidoscopic cultural movements, particularly in the city's progressive country music scene. Capturing a pivotal chapter in American social history, Progressive Country maps the conflicted iconography of "the Texan" during the '70s and its impact on the cultural politics of subsequent decades. This richly textured tour spans the notion of the "cosmic cowboy," the intellectual history of University of Texas folklore and historiography programs, and the complicated political history of late-twentieth-century Texas. Jason Mellard analyzes the complex relationship between Anglo-Texan masculinity and regional and national identities, drawing on cultural studies, American studies, and political science to trace the implications and representations of the multi-faceted personas that shaped the face of powerful social justice movements. From the death of Lyndon Johnson to Willie Nelson's picnics, from the United Farm Workers' marches on Austin to the spectacle of Texas Chic on the streets of New York City, Texas mattered in these years not simply as a place, but as a repository of longstanding American myths and symbols at a historic moment in which that mythology was being deeply contested. Delivering a fresh take on the meaning and power of "the Texan" and its repercussions for American history, this detail-rich exploration reframes the implications of a populist moment that continues to inspire progressive change.
Liam Burke
In 1978 Superman made audiences believe a man could fly. Since then, Superhero Movies have shown that man can not only fly, but swing from webs through New York's concrete canyons, turn monstrous shades of green if suitably vexed and dress as giant rodents to safeguard the city streets. Today, there are more Superhero Movies than ever before as the cinematic skies are filled with caped crusaders and nocturnal vigilantes that continue to delight and excite cinemagoers the world over. This book reveals the secret identity of the Superhero Movie, examining how cinema has come to represent the mythological icons of our age. Through detailed analysis and fascinating facts, Superhero Movies explores how, in a single bound, the Superhero has made the leap from the comic book page to the silver screen. So fasten your utility belt as you prepare to take flight with Superhero Movies. Includes an exclusive interview with Stan Lee, former president of Marvel Comics, creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer and Daredevil.
Paul Fussell
In this classic work, Paul Fussell illuminates the British experience on the Western Front from 1914 to 1918, focusing primarily on the literary means by which The Great War has been remembered, conventionalized, and mythologized. Drawing on the work of important wartime poets such as David Jones and Wilfred Owen, on the memoirs of Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, and Edmund Blunden, and on numerous other personal records housed in the Imperial War Museum, this award-winning volume provides an intimate and intensely poetic account of the event that revolutionized the way we see the world. It has been hailed as "humanly wise and compassionate" (Saturday Review), "original and brilliant" (Lionel Trilling), "bright and sensitive" (The New Yorker), and "probing, sympathetic, and illuminating" (The New Republic). It is an undisputed classic of cultural criticism. (from Amazon)