LYNNE TRUSS - Talk to the Hand. The Utter Bloody Rudeness of Everyday Life (or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door)

London England, Profile, 2005. First Edition, Binding: Cloth, Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall 1861979339 Hardback Hardback. For hundreds of years, we have had books on manners. The subjevct preoccupies us. What is acceptable behaviour? This book is not a book about manners or etiquette. It is about the rudeness of the modern world, and the sense of outrage that infects us every day as we discover that other people are - generally speaking - crass, selfish, and inconsiderate. The author asks why rudeness is a universal flashpoint and examines specific sources of affront. What ever happened to 'please' and 'thank you'? Why does the customer have to do all the work? Why do people behave in public as if they are in private? What ever happened to the idea of public-spiritedness? It's a big rant, essentially. But on the plust side, it's quite short and has virtually no hard facts to detain the reader or slow the argument. Potential readers are advised that there is nothing about pandas or punctuation in this book, and that anyone scouring the text for grammatical errors will be considered a bit of a bore. Is that a rude thing to say? As always, it isn't easy to be categorical. 414 pp.