Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door

lynne truss

"Talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening," the saying goes. When did the world stop wanting to hear? When did society stop valuing basic courtesy and respect? It’s a topic that has been simmering for years, and Lynne Truss says it’s now reached the boiling point. Taking on the boorish behavior that for some has become a point of pride, "Talk to the Hand" is a rallying cry for civility.

When did "please" and "thank you" become passé? When you call a "customer service" number, why does the burden of deciphering the automatic switchboard fall to you (and where are the real people when you, the customer, need service)? Why do people behave as if public spaces are their own chip-strewn living rooms? Perhaps most important, how has it come to be that we are not allowed to object? Call someone out on rude or disrespectful behaviour and you are likely to get an "eff off" or worse.

In a recent US survey, 79 per cent of adults said that lack of courtesy was a serious problem. For all of those fed up with antisocial behaviour and suffering in silence, realise that you are the majority!

Genres nonfictionhumorlanguagereferencesociologyessayscomedyculturalpsychologysociety

206 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24,2005

This edition

Format: 206 pages, Hardcover
Published: November 8, 2005 by Gotham Books
ISBN: 9781592401710
ASIN: 1592401716
Language: English

About the author

lynne truss

Lynne Truss is a writer and journalist who started out as a literary editor with a blue pencil and then got sidetracked. The author of three novels and numerous radio comedy dramas, she spent six years as the television critic of The Times of London, followed by four (rather peculiar) years as a sports columnist for the same newspaper. She won Columnist of the Year for her work for Women's Journal. Lynne Truss also hosted Cutting a Dash, a popular BBC Radio 4 series about punctuation. She now reviews books for the Sunday Times of London and is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4. She lives in Brighton, England.