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| A Good talk
by Daniel Menaker | |
Alternative Titles
| Good talk: the story and skill of conversation | |
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Summary
| 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 exclusively 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. | |
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Genre
| NonFiction | |
| Health, Mind and Body | |
| Sociological | |
Topics
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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 exclusively 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.
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Daniel Menaker was born in 1941 in New York City. He earned a B.A. from Swarthmore College and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University. Menaker has been an editor at Random House and has edited fiction and nonfiction at the New Yorker magazine for more than 20 years. His books include "Friends and Relations," a collection of short stories, and "The Treatment," a novel. <P> (Bowker Author Biography)
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A 26-year veteran of The New Yorker, Menaker here probes the origin and subtexts of everyday human interactions, exploring how conversations take shape and progress. At their best, they're a form of art, but conversation is not always smooth and charming. For people who often find their way into conversational pitfalls, Menaker packs an entire chapter full of advice. He differentiates between conversation that's aimless and purposeless and, among other topics, takes aim at name-droppers. In the hands of a less-skilled writer, this topic could have drowned in textbook-style overanalysis, but Menaker's book is filled with ample doses of humor and should be especially welcomed by wordsmiths and conversationalists. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
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A fiction writer and former editor at the New Yorker and Random House, Menaker (The Treatment) regards conversation as "a human art of great importance produced by all people everywhere." His witty approach is evident almost immediately, as he speculates on the creation of human language, moving on to the general rules of conversation, London coffeehouses as a forum for ideas, greetings, and name-droppers: "They wrap the pig of name-dropping in a blanket of casualness, or even criticalness, and seem to actually believe you won't taste the inner wiener." At the book's core is a conversation between Menaker and an anonymous female writer. Taped in a Brooklyn restaurant, this lengthy transcript is analyzed in detail to show how the participants take risks, seek a "common ground," interject humor, and discover perceptive insights about each other. Interview tactics and prepared remarks are covered, along with e-mail embarrassments, dating stratagems, sarcastic barbs, compliments, and interruptions. However, what makes a lasting impression is the parade of anecdotes about life in the corridors of the New Yorker and Random House, leaving the reader yearning for a full-scale Menaker memoir. (Jan.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
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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.--Scott, Whitney Copyright 2010 Booklist
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