A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation - Hardcover

Menaker, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446540021 ISBN 13: 9780446540025

Publisher: Twelve, 2010

Synopsis

A New Yorker editor for 26 years, Menaker views conversation as artifact, tracing its prehistoric beginnings with glottological theories on physical changes in the hominid larynx and mutation of the FoxP2 gene, which helped develop brain areas conducive to language, all before hominids left Africa. He posits that conversation developed as a hands-free substitute for socially interactive grooming, as with chimps, and, moving forward, considers conversation as aimless: not without aim, but without purpose, something that Americans, more than other modern societies, have been traditionally critical of. Within the context of the persistent legacy of Puritan "sobriety and pioneer pragmatism" favoring "those who talk little and accomplish much," he seamlessly entwines his own wryly humorous observations, dialogue from Jonathon Swift and Fred and Ginger, discussion of the chi energy of conversation, and FAQ: Frequently Arising Quandries. These last include "Insults" (subdivided into Inadvertent Affronts and Deliberate, Frontal Attack), "Prepared Remarks," and "Dating," which includes observations by Samuel Johnson plus notes on seduction and courtship. A charming, useful, and entertaining approach to a fascinating topic.

About this title

Product Description:

A GOOD TALK is an analysis of and guide to that most exclusively human of all activities-- conversation.

Drawing on over forty years of experience in American letters, Menaker pinpoints the factors that drive and enliven every good conversation: the vagaries (and joys) of subtext; the deeper structure and meaning of conversational flow; the subliminal signals that guide our disclosures and confessions; and the countless other hurdles we must clear along the way. Moving beyond self-help musings and "how to" advice, he has created a stylish, funny, and surprising book: a celebration of "the most excusively human of all activities."

In a time when conversation remains deeply important-- for building relationships, for relaxing, even for figuring out who we are-- and also increasingly imperiled (with Blackberries and texting increasingly in vogue), A GOOD TALK is a refreshing celebration of the subtle adventures of a good conversation.

Review:

"I might have guessed that Daniel Menaker could talk about talk with the same facility and charm that he can bring to any conversation. Still, A GOOD TALK, his lively analysis of the workings of social speech, comes as a delightful revelation."----Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States and author of Ballistics

"The art of conversation is in decline, and Daniel Menaker has hastened that decline by writing prose that is so funny, surprising, and habit-forming that the reader is inclined to cancel all social engagements and stay in at night with this book. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to resist an author who compares Socrates to
Columbo."--Mary Roach, author of Stiff

"How can a single book be so learned, so wise, so helpful, and so short? A Good Talk is a great delight."--Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen's Pier

"Just when it seems our society has forgotten how vital it is to our health and well being to have both intimate and public productive conversation, Daniel Menaker brings us "A Good Talk." This intelligent and thoughtful exploration of human communication happens to be very entertaining, but more importantly it provides a roadmap for enhancing your own relationships with good talk." --Gail Saltz, M.D. Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst, and Today Show Contributor

About this edition

• Publisher: Twelve
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0446540021
• ISBN 13: 9780446540025
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 230