Minding Miss Manners

The etiquette expert and “authentic comic genius” guides us through the Age of Incivility (Chris Buckley, New York Times-bestselling author of Has Anyone Seen My Toes?). We seem to be entering a new era, liberated from oppressive, old-fashioned rules of etiquette. We’re finally free! Free to shout insults at strangers on the street! Free to pressure people to give us money! Free to use all sorts of offensive language! In this book, New York Times-bestselling author Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, reminds us that living in an etiquette-free paradise is not all it’s cracked up to be. In wise, witty commentary and responses to letters, she addresses vexing problems in the workplace, at the wedding, on the web, and beyond, in hopes of saving civilization. But fear not, Gentle Reader—she also allows us some important exceptions. For example, despite the rampant oversharing that social media has encouraged, you can politely refuse to answer nosy questions. And you are decidedly not obliged to respond to every inane post; stay on the phone with a telemarketer; or hug your colleagues. “An extremely useful philosopher . . . I consult her frequently, in order to behave better.” —Daniel Handler in TheNew York Times

An indispensable manual to navigating life from birth to death without making a false move. Your neighbor denounces cellular telephones as instruments of the devil. Your niece swears that no one expects thank-you letters anymore. Your father-in-law insists that married women have to take their husbands' names. Your guests plead that asking them to commit themselves to attending your party ruins the spontaneity. Who is right? Miss Manners, of course. With all those amateurs issuing unauthorized etiquette pronouncements, aren't you glad that there is a gold standard to consult about what has really changed and what has not? The freshly updated version of the classic bestseller includes the latest letters, essays, and illustrations, along with the laugh-out-loud wisdom of Miss Manners as she meets the new millennium of American misbehavior head-on. This wickedly witty guide rules on the challenges brought about by our ever-evolving society, once again proving that etiquette, far from being an optional extra, is the essential currency of a civilized world.

She shows the crucial role of etiquette in such contemporary issues as political correctness, multiculturalism, sexual harassment, educational failure and freedom of speech.

The author uses this work to demonstrate that manners lead to the roots of ethical questions. She states that they are authorotative in that they are a primary means by whch we express moral attitudes and commitments and carry out important moral goals. In this work she uses Aristotle and Kant, along with other cultural examples such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm to illustrate these points.

From how to connect when we’re physically distant to the most effective way to advocate for better public health practices in your community (hint: it is not by yelling at jogging neighbors), Miss Manners guides readers through the unprecedented circumstances of the current global pandemic with humanity and wit.

America's leading civility expert knocks household discourteousness off its foundations. As the rudeness rampant in America's streets sends its citizens fleeing inside to bolt the doors and draw the shades, they are finding what was once the relative safety of the hearth threatened by an unwelcome addition to their living space--the same rudeness presumably left behind when they stepped across their own cozy thresholds. With the keen wit and insight that distinguishes her column and previous books, Judith Martin's newest work equips residences everywhere with the tools to return manners to domestic life. Refusing to recognize that the harried household cannot meet her standards of propriety--especially since all households are now harried--Miss Manners explains how this is done. Whether your family is nuclear, blended, extended, or unrelated; whether you are single, divorced, living together, or married; at a family dinner or dinner party; engaged in combat with the neighbors or with the relatives--there is simply no substitute for the core of civility that must reside at the heart of every house, condo or apartment if it is truly to be a home. Miss Manners is prepared to sweep through your house and get rid of those lurking traces of rudeness that you were pretending not to notice. You know you are not going to be able to enjoy a pleasant and peaceful household until these few chores are done. Table of Contents Chapter One--The People Allotting due space and respect to parents, children, roommates, relatives--and whoever those other people are whom one of them must have brought home Chapter Two--The Place Making use of the rooms instead of turning them into a mess or a museum, while everybody huddles upstairs Chapter Three--The Rules Negotiating compromises without having to leave home for Domestic Dispute Court Chapter Four--The System Keeping track of where everybody is, where they are supposed to be, and what they are supposed to be doing (if they remember) Chapter Five--The Help Getting the housework done when you can't complain about the Servant Problem--because theservants are you and the people in the phone book who may be there sometime today Chapter Six--The Visitors Offering hospitality without surrendering your privacy or your resources to the thankless Chapter Seven--Entertaining: The Social Contract Reviving the art of not-for-profit entertaining to make friends who will love you for yourself Chapter Eight--Entertaining: The Social Event Learning to give a variety of parties, formal and informal--because it beats staying home alone watching TV Chapter Nine--Entertaining: The Relatives Kindling warm memories rather than heated conflict at family occasions Chapter Ten--The Community Being pleasant enough to the neighbors so you're not afraid to walk out your own front door

National Book Award Finalist: “This man’s ideas may be the most influential, not to say controversial, of the second half of the twentieth century.”—Columbus Dispatch At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes's still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only three thousand years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion—and indeed our future. “Don’t be put off by the academic title of Julian Jaynes’s The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Its prose is always lucid and often lyrical…he unfolds his case with the utmost intellectual rigor.”—The New York Times “When Julian Jaynes . . . speculates that until late in the twentieth millennium BC men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of the gods, we are astounded but compelled to follow this remarkable thesis.”—John Updike, The New Yorker “He is as startling as Freud was in The Interpretation of Dreams, and Jaynes is equally as adept at forcing a new view of known human behavior.”—American Journal of Psychiatry

The great-great-grandson of Emily Post carries on her well-mannered tradition with netiquette rules for social media, online dating, work, and more. For generations of Americans, the Emily Post Institute is the authoritative source on how to behave with confidence and tact. Manners in a Digital World is its up-to-the-minute, straight-talking guide that tackles how we should act when using a digital device or when online. As communication technologies change, our smartphones and tablets become even more essential to our daily lives, and the most polished and appropriate ways to use them often remain unclear. As anyone who has mistakenly forwarded an email knows, there are many pitfalls, too. This essential guide discusses topics such as: · Why you need a healthy digital diet that includes texts, emails, and calls · How to appropriately handle a breakup announcement on social media · What makes for the best—and the worst—online comment · How to maintain privacy and security for online profiles and accounts, essential for everything from banking to online dating · How parents and children can establish digital house rules · The appropriate, low-maintenance ways to separate personal and professional selves online Emily Post’s Manners in a Digital World is for technophiles and technophobes alike—it’s for anyone who wants to navigate today’s communication environment with emotional intelligence.