Damn!: A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America

by Rob Chirico, Keith Allan (Foreword)

Swearing, cussing, or cursing, out of anger, excitement, or just because, is something most of us do, at least to some degree. Turn on the television or open a magazine, and there it is. Damn! is an insightful and entertaining look at our evolving use of profanity over the last half-century or so, from a time when Gone with the Wind came under fire for using the word “damn” to an age where the f-bomb is dropped in all walks of life. Writer and artist Rob Chirico follows the course of swearing through literature, the media, and music, as well as through our daily lives. From back rooms and barracks to bookshelves and Broadway; and from precedents to presidents, the journey includes such diverse notables as George Carlin, the Simpsons, D. H. Lawrence, Ice T, Barack Obama, Nietzsche, and, of course, Lenny Bruce. If you have ever stopped and wondered WTF has happened to our American tongue, don’t get out the bar of soap until you finish Damn!

Genres: Nonfiction, Language

183 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spotted this on the Indiana Digital Media New Ebooks list & decided to check it out.

The book is a relatively easy read on the history of cursing, obscenity and profanity (with definitions and examples of each), focusing mostly on the last half-century or so, with occasional forays further into the past.

Chirico gives Lenny Bruce much of the credit (and deservedly so) for the initial forays into breaking the taboo regarding foul language, with George Carlin close behind. A little light on sociology and linguistics; Chirico's focus was more descriptive than proscriptive. Not sure I learned anything groundbreaking, but it was an interesting look at the topic. Worth at least a library read if you have an interest in the material.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Keith Allen's foreword was encouraging and enticing using words like dysphemistic, effluvia, fora, disapprobation. Nice, I thought and short enough and curious enough to whet my appetite for imprecation done well. But then... the introduction was a little lengthy and somewhat repetitive of the short text, and the work itself just a tad derivative of other scholarly writings and better known popular scenarios.

[Gwynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly edited, which distracts at times (e.g., what the fuck is "Trump change"?!), but a history of swearing that amused and informed. Lots of references to other scholars whose work I probably won't read. I feel sufficiently informed by the discussion of "fuck"'s uniqueness in the world's set of contemporary languages.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of nonfiction or else I may have given it a higher rating. Check out my full review on LitReactor.com: http://litreactor.com/reviews/booksho....