{"product_id":"the-story-of-aint-america-its-language-and-the-most-controversial-dictionary-ever-published-9780062027498","title":"The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published","description":"\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSkinner, David:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eDavid Skinner is a writer and editor living in Alexandria, Virginia. He writes about language, culture, and his life as a husband, father, and suburbanite. He has been a staff editor at the \u003cem\u003eWeekly Standard\u003c\/em\u003e, for which he still writes, and an editor of \u003cem\u003eDoublethink\u003c\/em\u003e magazine. He has written for the \u003cem\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eNew Atlantis\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSlate\u003c\/em\u003e, the\u003cem\u003e Washington Times\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eAmerican Spectator\u003c\/em\u003e, and many other publications. Skinner is the editor of Humanities magazine, which is published by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is on the usage panel for the \u003cem\u003eAmerican Heritage Dictionary\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50317929906450,"sku":"9780062027498","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d282d233-2726-4ce7-a99c-6fd985a2849b.jpg?v=1727543040","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-story-of-aint-america-its-language-and-the-most-controversial-dictionary-ever-published-9780062027498","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}