A smart, funny, in-your-face modern manners book on day-to-day behavior for regular people.
Amy Alkon writes The Advice Goddess, an award-winning, syndicated column that runs in more than one hundred newspapers across the United States and Canada. She is also the author of I See Rude People. She has been on Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR, CNN, MTV, and Entertainment Tonight and has a weekly radio show called Advice Goddess Radio. She has also written for Psychology Today, Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles Times Magazine among others.
"Alkon not only tells readers what good manners are but also
provides useful suggestions for politely calling offenders'
attention to their rudeness. And she does this in a ferociously
funny style--it's worth a read for the laughs alone. There is
nothing here of the proper arrangement of table setting, nor of how
to address a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury; rather Alkon
deals with modern problems in interpersonal relationships, such as
how civilized people should act when standing in lines, on
airplanes, online, and elsewhere. In addition, she officers very
dependable, sensible, caring advice to those whose friends or
family are coping with terminal illness. VERDICT: Solid psychology
and a wealth of helpful knowledge and rapier wit fill these pages.
Highly recommended." --Library Journal (starred review)
"This book is a gem. Hysterically funny and grounded in science,
Amy Alkon explains why so many people are rude and how it's
possible to be courteous, even if you're foul-mouthed and clueless
about etiquette." --Dr. Adam Grant, Wharton School professor and
New York Times-bestselling author of Give and Take "I can say
without reservation that Good Manners For Nice People Who Sometimes
Say F*ck is hilarious, consistently entertaining, and, above all,
wise. It's Emily Post as a beach read." --Charlotte Allen, The
Weekly Standard "She is chatty, at times outrageous, but full of
ideas about living politely in a society that she says has become
too big for our brains to handle. As for Oscar Wilde, at the end of
his life is said to have commented: 'The world was my oyster, but I
used the wrong fork.'" --Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal "If
you're frequently left gasping by the jaw-dropping social
ineptitude of your fellow human beings, or you're guilty of being a
rude jackass yourself from time to time, this is the book for you.
Alkon doesn't suffer fools lightly, but she also has the gentle
wisdom to know that each of us plays the role of the fool
sometimes. Armed with fascinating science, great humor, and a
preternatural bullshit detector for a mind, she shoots from the hip
- and you'll be damn glad she does, too." --Dr. Jesse Bering,
Associate Professor of Science Communication and author of Perv
"Contradiction is part of what makes Ms. Alkon so captivating.
Perhaps the biggest contradiction: The hisser can also be utterly
lovely." --Brooks Barnes, The New York Times "Although the subject
matter should be enough to hold your attention, it is primarily
Amy's ability to turn a phrase that makes the book such a good
ride. Her section headings (e.g., 'Dating is War, ' 'Murder-Suicide
and Other Forms of Diplomacy, ' 'The Tragedy of the Asshole in the
Commons') make it impossible to put the book down and get back to
work without reading just one more section. I highly recommend this
book." --Dr. Frank McAndrew, Evolutionary Psychology journal "In
this comprehensive, science-based, easy-to-read, and hilarious
book, Alkon looks at where our rudeness comes from and provides
tangible ways for all of us to deal with it." --Dr. Jennifer
Verdolin, Psychology Today "One of '11 Smart Books You Should Read
This Summer'" --Sam McNerney, 250Words.com "This crazy redhead is
on to something. Her pink Rambler story alone is worth the price of
the book." --Elmore Leonard on I See Rude People "Amy Alkon is
intellectually promiscuous--and funny as hell." --Howard Bloom,
paleopsychologist and author of The Lucifer Principle on I See Rude
People "Seriously great book. Alkon is smart and savvy and funny as
hell. Where Hannibal the Cannibal only ate the rude, Alkon stands
up to them with the sort of glorious panache that sometimes makes
you want to stand and cheer." --David Middleton, January Magazine
on I See Rude People "Alkon turns reporting on findings in
evolutionary psychology into an art form. She scans the research
horizon for fascinating new results. Though relentless in her
skepticism, she is keenly attuned to findings that are both solid
and suggestive. (The world lost a great analyst when Alkon turned
away from academic research.) In her hands, all this research turns
into practical advice for how ordinary people can live better
lives. Alkon may be, as the LA Weekly put it, 'Miss Manners With
Fangs, ' but she is perhaps better characterized as the offspring
of Charles Darwin and Dorothy Parker. We academics can all take a
lesson from her ability to redefine academic turf in terms 'the
ordinary person' can both understand and enjoy." --Dr. Barbara
Oakley, Oakland University on Amy Alkon
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