Synopses & Reviews
A dishy, incisive exploration of gossip—from celebrity rumors to literary romans à clef, from personal sniping to political slander—by one of our “great essayists” (David Brooks)
To his successful examinations of some of the most powerful forces in modern life—envy, ambition, snobbery, friendship—the keen observer and critic Joseph Epstein now adds Gossip. No trivial matter, despite its reputation, gossip is eternal and necessary. Himself a master of the art, Epstein serves up delightful mini-biographies of the Great Gossips of the Western World along with many choice bits from his own experience. He also makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned best—clever, mocking, a great private pleasure—to a corrosive new-school version, thanks to the reach of the mass media and the Internet. Gossip has even invaded politics and journalism, causing unsubstantiated information to be presented as fact. Contemporary gossip claims to reveal truth, but as Epstein shows, its our belief in truth itself that may be destroyed by gossip.
Written in his trademark erudite and witty style, Gossip captures the complexity of this immensely entertaining subject.
Review
"While Epsteins ruminations on how we became a nation of gawkers ring painfully true, it is his willingness to analyze delectable tidbits regarding authors, intellectuals and other luminaries that enlivens the narrative...
Amusing and serious in equal measures, Epstein grants readers the pleasurable company of a master observer of humanitys foibles."
-Kirkus, starred "Delectable firsthad anecdotes and portraits...add to the pleasures of this serious appraisal. Readers who share Epstein's concern about gossip's power 'to invade privacy, to wreck lives' and his reluctance to wholly condemn it 'because I enjoy it too much' will find him disquieting and delightful."
-Publishers Weekly
"[Epstein has] a literary tone that makes you think of venerable Manhattan editors with mid-Atlantic accents...like a good stand-up comedian (or a discoverer), he inspires confidence [in his writing]." -Wall Street Journal
Synopsis
From the man who is practically synonymous with the form of the modern personal essay comes a delightful collection of prose, poems, and never-before-published pieces that span his career as an essayist, novelist, poet, film critic, father, son, and husband. Organized in six parts (Childhood; Youth; Early Marriage and Bachelorhood; Teaching and Work; Fiction; Politics, Religion, Movies, Books, Cities; The Style of Middle Age) Getting Personal tells two stories: the development of Lopate's career as a writer and the story of his life.
Synopsis
From the man whose name is synonymous with the contemporary personal essay, Getting Personal is a rich and ambitious collection that spans Phillip Lopate's career as an essayist, teacher, film critic, father, son, and husband. Witty, insightful, deeply meditative, and self-revelatory, with his characteristic candor and curmudgeonly charm, he explores himself, his life, his family, his religion, and his friends.
Synopsis
From the master of the form, Phillip Lopate, a selection of essays that together trace the arc of his life and career
Synopsis
A juicy, incisive exploration of gossip in all its forms--from celebrity rumors to literary romans a clef, from personal sniping to political slander--by one our "great essayists" (David Brooks)
About the Author
Currently the John Cranford Adams Chair of the English Department at Hofstra University, Phillip Lopate is the author of five works of nonfiction, two novels, and two books of poems, as well as serving as editor of the best-selling collections Writing New York and The Art of the Personal Essay. The recipient of two Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts grants, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.
Table of Contents
Preface xi
Part I: Private Gossip
1. How It Works 1
2. Feasible, Uncheckable, Deeply Damning 11
3. When Is It All Right to Gossip? 21
4. In the Know 31
Great Gossips of the Western World, I 37
5. The Truth Defense 48
6. The Gossip Transaction 54
7. Need Gossip Be Trivial? 60
8. Pure Speculation 65
Part II: Public Gossip
9. Gossip Goes Public 73
10. Gossip Goes Center Ring 80
11. Shooting at Celebrities 90
Great Gossips of the Western World, II 103
12. Antediluvian Gossip 114
13. Literary Gossip 126
14. Gay Gossip 137
Great Gossips of the Western World, III 149
Part III: Private Become Public
15. Caught in the Net 161
16. Whores of Information 176
17. Snoopin and Scoopin 187
Great Gossips of the Western World, IV 197
18.Too Much Even of Kreplach 211
A Bibliographical Note 219
Index 223