Gossip - eBook

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and entertaining study, the author of Snobbery takes a look at a human activity that may be looked down upon, but nevertheless plays a persistent role in our societyand therefore, must be taken seriously.Joseph Epstein, who admits to indulging in this activity himself from time to time, serves up mini-biographies of historys famous gossips, and makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned bestclever, mocking, a great private pleasureto a corrosive, destructive new version, thanks to the reach of the mass media and the Internet. This is an erudite and witty read from a master observer of humanitys foibles (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).Epstein defines categories of gossip, from personal to celebrity, workplace, and political, and discusses how gossip enforces a communitys norms or, conversely, helps foster tolerance. . . . In his briskly erudite, zestfully original, and provokingly enjoyable anatomy of gossip, Epstein revels in the risky collusion of gossip within shared worlds and resoundingly condemns media-disseminated gossip that diminishes our ability to ascertain or value the truth. Booklist