Going Nucular; Language, Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times

New York: PublicAffairs, 2004. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xvii, [3], 298, [2] pages. Word Index. Subject Index. Nunberg (linguistics, Stanford U.) does not spend much time on the romance of words or decrying the state of the language, but more often takes language as a jumping off point to see what words can reveal about other things, among them culture, war, politics, symbols, media, business, and technology. Many of the 65 essays began life as articles or radio commentaries. These essays are arranged in the following groups: Culture at Large, War Drums, Politics as Usual, Symbols, Media Words, Business Cycles, Tech Talk, and Watching our Language. Geoffrey Nunberg (June 1, 1945 - August 11, 2020) was an American lexical semantician and author. In 2001 he received the Linguistics, Language, and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistic Society of America for his contributions to National Public Radio's Fresh Air, and he has published a number of popular press books including Going Nucular: Language, Politics and Culture in Controversial Times (2004). Nunberg is primarily known for his public-facing work interpreting linguistic science for lay audiences, though his contributions to linguistic theory are also well regarded. Nunberg received his doctorate from the City University of New York (CUNY) in 1977 for his dissertation, The Pragmatics of Reference. Following his education, Nunberg began working as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Berkeley and visiting professor at Stanford University. In the mid-1980s he moved to the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center where he worked until 2001. He then returned to academia. The words that echo through Geoffrey Nunberg's brilliant new journey across the landscape of American language evoke exactly the tenor of our times. Nunberg has a wonderful ear for the new, the comic and the absurd. He pronounces that: "‘Blog' is a syllable whose time has come," and that "You don't get to be a verb unless you're doing something right," with which he launches into the effect of Google on our collective consciousness. Nunberg hears the shifting use of "Gallic" as we suddenly find ourselves in bitter opposition to the French; perhaps only Nunberg could compare America the Beautiful with a Syrian national anthem that contains the line "A land resplendent with brilliant suns...almost like a sky centipede." At the heart of the entertainment and linguistic slapstick that Nunberg delights in are the core concerns that have occupied American minds. "Going Nucular," the title piece, is more than a bit of fun at the President's expense. Nunberg's analysis is as succinct a summary of the questions that hover over the administration's strategy as any political insider's. It exemplifies the message of the book: that in the smallest ticks and cues of language the most important issue and thoughts of our times can be heard and understood. If you know how to listen for them. Nunberg has dazzling receptors, perfect acoustics and a deftly elegant style to relay his wit and wisdom.