With vigor, wit, learning, common sense, and urgency, twenty-three essayist-including John Simon, Cynthia Ozick, Phillip Lopate, George F. Kennan, Sven Birkerts, Joseph Epstein, and Brad Leithauser-examine aspects of our pan-cultural "dumbing down" and offer both diagnoses of and possible cures for this wasting disease.

About the Author
John Thornton was a book editor for many years and now works as a literary agent. He lives in New York. Katharine Washburn is an editor and translator. She lives in New York.

Reviews
"A collection of savagely witty essays by a hardy band of cultural commentators who believe things are bad, really bad out there, and are not at all reluctant to say so." -- Florence King - National Review
"What distinguishes this collection is its breadth, its liveliness. This valuable book provides much ammunition for . . . unrepentant elitists." -- Lisa Zeidner - Philadelphia Inquirer
"Provides the best picture we have of the declining and embarrassing condition of discourse in America." -- Neil Postman
"A terrific book. It is unsettling, arresting, and compelling, and its publication is a public service." -- William J. Bennett



Book Information
ISBN 9780393317237
Author John F. Thornton
Format Paperback
Page Count 332
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 514g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 157mm * 25mm