Synopses & Reviews
Americans have long been fascinated with the oddness of the British, but the English, according to Terry Eagleton, find their transatlantic neighbors equally strange. Why must we broadcast our children’s school grades with bumper stickers announcing “My Child Made the Honor Roll?” Why don’t we appreciate the indispensability of the teapot? And why do we so foolishly insist on being friendly to every passing stranger? In his quirky journey through the language, geography, and national character of the USA, literary theorist Eagleton probes the depths of American culture with an academic’s gravitas and a comedian’s glee. He answers the questions his compatriots have always had but (being British) are too reticent to ask, like why we willingly rise at the crack of dawn, even on Sundays. In this pithy, warmhearted, and often very funny book, Eagleton melds a good old-fashioned roast with true admiration for his neighbors across the pond.
Review
"Terry Eagleton has a gift for the kind of generalizations that at first appear outrageous but seem, on reflection, annoyingly perceptive. Were I one of the expressive Americans he describes, I'd call this book awesome; as a constipated Brit, I'm inclined to say that it is not at all bad." Geoff Nicholson Los Angeles Review of Books
Review
"Terry Eagleton has a gift for the kind of generalizations that at first appear outrageous but seem, on reflection, annoyingly perceptive. Were I one of the expressive Americans he describes, I’d call this book awesome; as a constipated Brit, I’m inclined to say that it is not at all bad." Henry Hitchings, author, < i=""> The Secret Life of Words <>
Review
"Incisive and honest... Eagleton's contribution to the persistent subgenre of Toquevillian analysis: the European curmudgeon's critical, ultimately appreciative and, in Eagleton's case, loving guide to the wacky Yanks and their nation." Michael Washburn
Review
"[Eagleton is] clearly a writer who enjoys being a provocateur: there's something to argue with on pretty much every page of , and usually something downright hilarious, too. Great stuff...Terry Eagleton is a funny man." Boston Globe
Review
"His mode is that of a jocular anthropologist, pint in hand, chattily offering up his opinions." Henry Hitchings, author, The Secret Life of Words
Synopsis
Americans have long been fascinated with the oddness of the British, but the English, says literary critic Terry Eagleton, find their transatlantic neighbors just as strange. Only an alien race would admiringly refer to a colleague as aggressive, use superlatives to describe everything from one s pet dog to one s rock collection, or speak frequently of being empowered. Why, asks Eagleton, must we broadcast our children s school grades with bumper stickers announcing My Child Made the Honor Roll ? Why don t we appreciate the indispensability of the teapot? And why must we remain so irritatingly optimistic, even when all signs point to failure?
On his quirky journey through the language, geography, and national character of the United States, Eagleton proves to be at once an informal and utterly idiosyncratic guide to our peculiar race. He answers the questions his compatriots have always had but (being British) dare not ask, like why Americans willingly rise at the crack of dawn, even on Sundays, or why we publicly chastise cigarette smokers as if we re all spokespeople for the surgeon general.
In this pithy, warmhearted, and very funny book, Eagleton melds a good old-fashioned roast with genuine admiration for his neighbors across the pond.
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Synopsis
An irreverant trip through American culture by a critic who “cracks jokes as easily as one would crack peanut shells” (Washington Post).
Synopsis
“Terry Eagleton has a gift for the kind of generalizations that at first appear outrageous but seem, on reflection, annoyingly perceptive. Were I one of the expressive Americans he describes, I’d call this book awesome; as a constipated Brit, I’m inclined to say that it is not at all bad.”—Henry Hitchings, author of The Secret Life of Words
Synopsis
In this pithy, warmhearted, and very funny book, Eagleton melds a good old-fashioned roast with genuine admiration for his neighbors "across the pond."
About the Author
Terry Eagleton is Professor of Cultural Theory and John Rylands Fellow, University of Manchester. His other books include Ideology; The Function of Criticism; Heathcliff and the Great Hunger; Against the Grain; Walter Benjamin; and Criticism and Ideology, all from Verso.