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Slam Dunk and Other No Brainers
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Out of stock
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
In this marvelously original book, three-time Pulitzer Prize
finalist Leslie Savan offers fascinating insights into why we’re all
talking the talk—Duh; Bring it on!; Bling; Whatever!—and
what this reveals about America today. Savan traces the paths that
phrases like these travel from obscure slang to pop stardom, selling
everything from cars (ads for VWs, Mitsubishis, and Mercurys all pitch
them as “no-brainer”s) to wars (finding WMD in Iraq was to be a “slam
dunk”). Real people create these catchy phrases, but once media,
politics, and businesses broadcast them, they burst out of our mouths
as celebrity words, newly glamorous and powerful.
Witty, fun, and full of thought-provoking stories about the origins of popular expressions, Slam Dunks and No-Brainers is for everyone who loves the mysteries of language.
About the Author
Leslie Savan wrote a column about advertising and commercial culture for The Village Voice
for thirteen years. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in
criticism in 1991, 1992, and 1997. In 1996 she was named one of "The
Top Ten Media Heroes" by the Institute for Alternative Journalism. She
has been a commentator for Fresh Air and has appeared on the ABC and
CBS national newscasts, NPR, and The O'Reilly Factor. She has written
for The New York Times, Time, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, Mademoiselle, and Salon, among other publications. Her essays have been reprinted in numerous textbooks and anthologies. Her previous book, The Sponsored Life: Ads, TV, and American Culture, is a collection of her columns.
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