[.uk] Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World ... (ISBN 1592401716)

Amazon.com Review:
Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Lynne Truss is the pundit of pet peeves. She's taken on the ignorance of basic grammar with Eats, Shoots & Leaves, now she bravely rallies against the abysmal state of manners. And while she uses the Jerry Springer-esque phrase of 'talk to the hand' as her title, it's obvious she'd like to have snarkily dubbed it "Learn Some Effing Manners People!"--only she's too polite to do so. (It should be noted that while she's shocked by 6-year-olds using the f -word, she's hopeful that it's so overused that it'll soon sink into obsolescence.) To hammer across her points on politesse, Truss pulls quotations from an astonishing range of sources. Sociologist Erving Goffman is a favorite, but the Simpsons (of cartoon fame, not Jessica & Ashlee), Evelyn Waugh, and W.B. Yeats are also tapped. What her rant boils down to though is unsurprising: modern communication is at the root of rude behavior. Mobile phones and iPods have left us existing in our own little "bubble worlds," she says. "It used to be just CIA agents with earpieces…who regarded all the little people as irrelevant scum. Now it's nearly everybody." These self-produced bubbles make it easy for rudeness to rule. If someone forgets to hold a door or say "Thank you," it's because, Truss says, they're zoned out in their personal space, and will likely be offended if their lack of manners is pointed out. (The ruder the person, she says, the more easily offended.) Truss certainly earns many chuckles throughout her somewhat rambling musings, but her concern about society's decline is serious. To that end, she offers the words of Willy Loman's wife in Arthur Miller's most famous play on modern-day morality (and we all remember what happens in its last act): "Attention must be paid."--Erica Jorgensen A Note from Lynne Truss Dear Amazon customer and fellow stickler, There’s an odd thing I’m finding about my new book, Talk to the Hand. The moment I start describing it to people ("Basically, it’s about the rudeness of everyday life – "), they jump straight in with stories about all the rudeness they’ve encountered in the past ten years. When I was trying to tell people about punctuation, engaging their attention was a victory. Well, not this time. "And another thing!" they say, banging the table. "What about cell phones? What about cold callers?" I make a feeble stab at outlining my six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door, also my theory of the alienation of modern life, which is that fundamentally we expect to be met half-way in our dealings with strangers and are continually shocked that this courtesy no longer pertains – but who am I kidding? I never get further than the first good reason (the decline of "please", "thank you", and "excuse me") because people are agreeing so vehemently, and I’m saying "Absolutely" and "You’re right" and "Actually, some of this is in the book." The thing is: there is nothing original in being against rudeness. Everyone is against rudeness. In fact, very, very rude people object to it strongly. But why does it matter to us so much? Are we so scared of other people? Why do we spend so much of our time saying, "Oh, that’s so RUDE"? All I can say is, you could find out from reading the book! But if you'd rather not, best wishes to all sticklers. Your special pal, Lynne Truss The Lynne Truss Collection Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Eats, Shoots & Leaves: 2006 Calendar Making the Cat Laugh

Apology from Lynne Truss for Gluten remark:
I haven't read the book, but I thought that all the reviewers that were upset by the gluten reference should receieve an update. Ms.Truss received a letter, posted below, from the Coeliac UK website and the author responded and cleared up the confusion. Lynne Truss letter A number of members contacted us to complain about comments in Lynne Truss' latest book 'Talk to the Hand' in which she made light of coeliac disease by joking about gluten intolerance. Coeliac UK CEO Sarah Sleet wrote to Lynne Truss to express concern and explain the seriousness of coeliac disease. We received the following apology from the authoress: ''I am appalled to discover that a joke in my book Talk to the Hand has caused offence to a number of people. That offence is entirely unintentional; in fact the joke is clearly directed entirely at myself. I am saying that, being in a heightened state of intolerance for things in general, I mistake ''gluten intolerance'' for a kind of flag-waving pressure group (rather than a medical condition), and am keen to join up. At the time it seemed to me quite a good joke, and to be honest I adapted it from a line in a Seinfeld broadcast many years ago, so the only accusation I anticipated was one of plagiarism. However, I apologise for any genuine hurt caused, and will remove the joke in later editions of the book.'' If this has been published here previously, please accept my apologies. (...). is the website if you wish to pay a visit. I do not represent either Ms.Truss or Coeliac UK, I just wanted you guys to know.

Utterly Nasty:
This lady enjoys ripping into others way too much. I wish her better than she is capable of wishing others.

Talk to the hand:
No as good as her book called EAT SHOOTS and LEAVES, but was still funny and a good read

So honest and accurate!:
Although the book was a bit dirty looking when it arrived at my house (at least the cover was pretty filthy), when I got into the guts of the book, I really enjoyed it. Truss' writing is both interesting and humorous. I think she makes many valid points and observations about the world today and how manners have declined to such a degree. Well worth a read!

One Woman Answers an Eternal Question-"How Rude Was That?":
I wish I wrote so well. I dream that someday my natural verbosity will be distilled into a clarity resembling the precise pithy sentiments expressed by Lynne Truss in her lighthearted diatribe against contemporary rudeness entitled "Talk to the Hand:The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door." In this short pointed work Truss exposes the six modern incivilities that daily thwart the conscientious person's attempts to make life a bit more gracious. 1. The disappearance of small civil reciprocities such as "please" and "thank you." 2. Customers and patrons now serving themselves where traditionally they have been served, and the offending organizations still wanting our money! 3. People in public acting as if they are in private. Behaviors unleashed by the cell phone. 4. The Eff Off Response. No explanation needed. 5. Disrespect. When authority is perceived as a personal insult. 6. A lack of awareness that we are a part of a society, something larger than ourselves. This is potentially pedantic stuff. But Truss never lets it get too heavy. A quote from her chapter entitled "Booing the Judges" illustrates her delightfully snarky insightful style. "Count the role models for respectfulness, on the other hand, and after a couple of hours you will have to admit that there is only one: Babe. That's it. Just one small sturdy imaginary sheep-pig stands between us and total moral decay. "Excuse me," he says, gently tilting his snout upwards. "I wonder if you'd care to follow me this way to the hillside of enlightenment." At which point a passer-by tragically fells him with a blow to the head with an umbrella and shouts, "You see? I told you it was him!" (pages 172-173 @2005 Gotham Books, first edition) Absolutely do not stay home and bolt your door. Go directly to the library or bookstore and share in Truss's cathartic droll self-dubbed "moan of modern life."