Gossip

A look at the delights-and dangers-of gossip, from a New York Times-bestselling, "erudite writer, gifted with rare insight and a wry sense of humor" ( USA Today).
Gossip is no trivial matter. In this enlightening 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 society-and therefore, must be taken seriously.

Joseph Epstein, who admits to indulging in this activity himself from time to time, serves up mini-biographies of history's famous gossips, and makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned best-clever, mocking, a great private pleasure-to 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 humanity's foibles" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

"Epstein defines categories of gossip, from personal to celebrity, workplace, and political, and discusses how gossip 'enforces a community's 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