Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels
Insulting the President, from Washington to Trump
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP USA
- Date of Publication 11 June 2020
- ISBN 9780190050900
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages228 pages
- Size 140x185x22 mm
- Weight 272 g
- Language English
- Illustrations 11 illustrations 19
Categories
Short description:
Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels is a history of the United States in presidential insults. Beginning with George Washington ("old Muttonhead"), John Adams ("His Rotundity"), and Thomas Jefferson ("a brandy-soaked defamer of churches") and continuing up to the present day, readers learn about the challenges faced by each president, the insults directed at them, and how they responded. Along with the historical context, there is plenty for language lovers about the "facetious pettifoggers," "prize honeyfugglers," and "byzantine logothetes" who have led the United States.
With over 500 examples covering the span of U.S. history, linguist Edwin Battistella explains what insults are all about and what makes an effective political insult. In the process, he treats readers to some of the best political invective ever.
Long description:
Insulting the president is an American tradition. From Washington to Trump, presidents have been called "lazy," "feeble," "pusillanimous," and more. Our leaders have been derided as "ignoramuses," "idiots," "morons," and "fatheads," and have been compared to all manner of animals--worms and whales and hyenas, sad jellyfish, strutting crows, lap dogs, reptiles, and monkeys.
Political insults tell us what we value in our leaders by showing how we devalue them. In Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels, linguist Edwin Battistella collects over five hundred insults aimed at American presidents. Covering the broad sweep of American history, he puts insults in their place-the political and cultural context of their times. Along the way, Battistella illustrates the recurring themes of political insults: too little intellect or too much, inconsistency or obstinacy, worthlessness, weakness, dishonesty, sexual impropriety, appearance, and more. The kinds of insults we use suggest what our culture finds most hurtful, and reveal society's changing prejudices as well as its most enduring ones. How we insult presidents and how they react tells us about the presidents, but it also tells us about our nation's politics.
Readers discover how the style of insults evolves in different historical periods: gone are "apostate," "mountebank," "flathead," and "doughface." Say hello to "moron," "jerk," "asshole," and "flip-flopper." Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels covers the broad sweep of American history, from the founder's debates over the nature of government to world wars and culture wars and social media.
Whatever your politics, you'll find Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels an invaluable source of invigorating invective-and a healthy perspective on today's political climate.
This is an easy-to-read, enjoyable book, accessible to every reader and particularly timely given the current political climate. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Insults and Politics
Chapter 2: Founders, 1788-1824
Chapter 3: The Rise of the Common Man, 1824-1860
Chapter 4: A Nation Remade, 1860-1900
Chapter 5: The Modern Presidency, 1900-1945
Chapter 6: A World Power, 1945-1980
Chapter 7: Culture Wars, 1980-2018
A Catalog of Presidential Insults
Acknowledgements
Sources & Bibliography
Index
