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Lynne Truss is the pundit of pet peeves. She's taken on the ignorance of basic grammar with Eats, Shoots & Leaves, now she bravely rallies against the abysmal state of manners. And while she uses the Jerry Springer-esque phrase of 'talk to the hand' as her title, it's obvious she'd like to have snarkily dubbed it "Learn Some Effing Manners People!"--only she's too polite to do so. (It should be noted that while she's shocked by 6-year-olds using the f -word, she's hopeful that it's so overused that it'll soon sink into obsolescence.) To hammer across her points on politesse, Truss pulls quotations from an astonishing range of sources. Sociologist Erving Goffman is a favorite, but the Simpsons (of cartoon fame, not Jessica & Ashlee), Evelyn Waugh, and W.B. Yeats are also tapped. What her rant boils down to though is unsurprising: modern communication is at the root of rude behavior. Mobile phones and iPods have left us existing in our own little "bubble worlds," she says. "It used to be just CIA agents with earpieces…who regarded all the little people as irrelevant scum. Now it's nearly everybody." These self-produced bubbles make it easy for rudeness to rule. If someone forgets to hold a door or say "Thank you," it's because, Truss says, they're zoned out in their personal space, and will likely be offended if their lack of manners is pointed out. (The ruder the person, she says, the more easily offended.) Truss certainly earns many chuckles throughout her somewhat rambling musings, but her concern about society's decline is serious. To that end, she offers the words of Willy Loman's wife in Arthur Miller's most famous play on modern-day morality (and we all remember what happens in its last act): "Attention must be paid."--Erica Jorgensen

A Note from Lynne Truss

Dear Amazon customer and fellow stickler,

There's an odd thing I'm finding about my new book, Talk to the Hand. The moment I start describing it to people ("Basically, it's about the rudeness of everyday life - "), they jump straight in with stories about all the rudeness they've encountered in the past ten years. When I was trying to tell people about punctuation, engaging their attention was a victory. Well, not this time. "And another thing!" they say, banging the table. "What about cell phones? What about cold callers?" I make a feeble stab at outlining my six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door, also my theory of the alienation of modern life, which is that fundamentally we expect to be met half-way in our dealings with strangers and are continually shocked that this courtesy no longer pertains - but who am I kidding? I never get further than the first good reason (the decline of "please", "thank you", and "excuse me") because people are agreeing so vehemently, and I'm saying "Absolutely" and "You're right" and "Actually, some of this is in the book." The thing is: there is nothing original in being against rudeness. Everyone is against rudeness. In fact, very, very rude people object to it strongly. But why does it matter to us so much? Are we so scared of other people? Why do we spend so much of our time saying, "Oh, that's so RUDE"? All I can say is, you could find out from reading the book! But if you'd rather not, best wishes to all sticklers.

Your special pal,

Lynne Truss

The Lynne Truss Collection

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: 2006 Calendar

Making the Cat Laugh

Book Description

“Talk to the hand, 'cause the face ain't listening,” the saying goes.

When did the world stop wanting to hear? When did society become so thoughtless? 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 courtesy. Like Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Talk to the Hand is not a stuffy guidebook, and is sure to inspire spirited conversation.

Why hasn't your nephew ever thanked you for your carefully selected gift? What makes your contractor think it's fine to snub you in the midst of a major renovation? Why do crowds spawn selfishness? What accounts for the appalling treatment you receive in stores (if you're lucky enough to get a clerk's attention at all)? Most important, what will it take to roll back a culture that applauds those who are disrespectful? In a recent U.S. survey, 79 percent of adults said that lack of courtesy was a serious problem. For anyone who's fed up with the brutality inflicted by modern manners (or lack thereof), Talk to the Hand is a colorful call to arms—from the wittiest defender of the civilized world.

Praise for Lynne Truss's #1 New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves:

“If Lynne Truss were Roman Catholic I'd nominate her for sainthood.”
—Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes and 'Tis

“Ms. Truss's witty analysis and fussbudget tactics” are “contagious.”
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"Her scholarship is impressive and never dry."
—Edmund Morris, The New York Times Book Review

"Truss brings a droll sensibility to that driest of topics […] She's a reformer with the soul of a stand-up comedian."
—Jan Freeman, Boston Sunday Globe

"You can't help but be seduced by Truss's passion."
—Mary Ambrose, Boston Sunday Globe

Download Description

"""Talk to the hand, 'cause the face ain't listening,"" the saying goes. When did the world stop wanting to hear? When did society become so thoughtless? 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 courtesy. Like Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Talk to the Hand is not a stuffy guidebook, and is sure to inspire spirited conversation. Why hasn't your nephew ever thanked you for your carefully selected gift? What makes your contractor think it's fine to snub you in the midst of a major renovation? Why do crowds spawn selfishness? What accounts for the appalling treatment you receive in stores (if you're lucky enough to get a clerk's attention at all)? Most important, what will it take to roll back a culture that applauds those who are disrespectful? In a recent U.S. survey, 79 percent of adults said that lack of courtesy was a serious problem. For anyone who's fed up with the brutality inflicted by modern manners (or lack thereof), Talk to the Hand is a colorful call to arms-from the wittiest defender of the civilized world. "

Customer Reviews:

Wrong title.......2007-08-07

This book should be re-titled 'An old woman's diatribe on (British) manners', because that's basically what it is. It should not be confused with something more substantive or authoritative, because it categorically is not.

Reading the pages of accolades one could easily get the impression this was a book of substance; a well-researched sociological, historical, psychological treatise on manners that would somehow take you up the path to an altogether newer, and more importantly, higher viewpoint. Sadly, although it may make you laugh in places, it offers up nothing particularly enlightening, certainly nothing any inquisitive or enquiring mind will not have figured out for themselves. One therefore needs to decide if it is really worth spending money on a product that can be read in one sitting and that ultimately won't deliver. At this juncture one might offer a fast-food analogy; looks tasty, appears to fill you up, soon hungry. My advice if you feel you must read it, then borrow a copy from your local library.

This book fails for a number of reasons, I will pick up and expand on three points.

Firstly the author is FAR too personally involved in the subject to be either authoritative or rational. Lynn Truss clearly has a good deal of personal issues and carries an enormous amount of baggage that she may or may not be dealing with. Add to that, that she is over-opinionated and she becomes the crazy woman shouting a passers-by. This obsessive and often irrational behaviour might make you laugh but it also destroys the validity of any argument presented and cause here to jump from point-to-point with neither rhyme, reason nor reference. Being an obsessive busy-body, is not, in my opinion, a valid reason to write a book. One cannot help but feel that had she been a 'no-one'; an aspiring author, she would have been given the cold-shoulder by the publishing houses and told to come back when she had fully developed the idea. This point illustrates the problem with publishers in general who take 'name' over substance, and the public who buy 'name' over substance.

As already hinted at, the second downfall is the lack of any real depth of understanding. We get a LOT of Truss' opinions, but as far as I know, she is not a behavioural psychologist, nor sociologist, nor has any real qualification to write a book that masquerades as some substantive body on modern social patterns. Truss uses six chapters to guide us through what and to what destination, I am not quite sure. Incidentally chapter six seems like filler and seems to serve no purpose other than padding; this book has a LOT of padding, and it's only about two-hundred pages short anyway.

Finally, as with all problems, there needs to be a solution. Truss clearly revels is tearing down society, but offers nothing in its place. She is keen to critique and yet fails miserably to offer an alternative manifesto. She hints at the French system, but offers neither empirical data nor extended research to then offer this as a viable alternative. In that regard she is as guilty as the culture she rejects, because she (like her subjects of derision) is merely famous for being famous. She is all bark and no bite.

Addendum.
One point that interest me, and a point which Truss never saw, was the wiser historical context of behaviour. Whilst she hints at the class system (and offers us her distaste) she fails entirely to grasp the point that the British are by and large louts. As she mentioned, Jerry Springer found this out to his dismay. Other nationalities have forever cast the British in the wrong mould; bowler-hats, pinstripe suits and cloudy London. Historical props cast in bronze and without reference placed in the contemporary context. People WANT to believe the British are still gentile (if they ever were). They are a utopic painting hanging over a flickering coal fire in a quaint public-house.
To expand this point. With the exception of the upper and middle-classes British people always were a bit 'spit and polish'. The empire expanded and the gentry travelled, thus the people who encountered the 'British' largely encountered a certain class and not the average man or woman. The average Brit. who provided the sweat for the industrial revolution or the blood for the two world wars is an altogether different animal. It is unwise to credit the British in general for advances in science, medicine, engineering and culture, for it was propagated by a VERY small number of individuals and administered by the masses. That false idolatry is largely why during the 'hooligan' years the world was so shocked, because the Gods were torn down and reality restored. Gone was the refined gentry sipping G&T, and in their place we had the lads and ladesses swilling lager and re-enacting the battles of Europe in football shirts instead of armour.
As the class system begins to erode and as money and status replace it so people travel and so personal freedoms and social freedoms increase. Only fifty years ago when the class system was well and truly in place England really was a different country. Now with access to information, higher education and such, people are much more vocal about their wants and desires and this needs referencing to the historical perspective if one is to find a root cause and maybe a solution.

...to the death of rudeness!.......2007-07-25

Since "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" made me laugh, made me angry, and made me a warrior against bad punctuation, I was pretty certain this next book would be a pleasure. There are not as many laughs in this one, but the sense of indignation at generally bad interpersonal relationships comes through loud and clear. You will never walk through a door being held for you without saying "Thanks." It's a "must read" for Truss fans, as well as a terrific introduction to her fluent, readable writing style. It's like having a conversation with a trusted friend.

So...what's the point of this one?.......2007-07-13

I was expecting something delicious and instead got a rambling book with little point except a stated intent to shock or astonish. If the book is talking about the demise of manners, as the title seems to imply, it would appear that the author is happy about the prospect and doing her best to hasten it. I found little cohesion, and can only conclude that Truss (she doesn't like honorifics, I gather) produced this current offering in an attempt to cash in on Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

Well, aside from making this reader resolve to leave Truss strictly alone in future - which appears to be the aim of this book - it didn't work.

I wish I could give it half a star.......2007-07-12

Have you ever bought a book that you thought you would enjoy, that a major magazine (The Boston Globe) described as droll and entertaining and received, instead, an at times whiney while at other times strident rant about the decline of manners in the world? While the author, in her examples, was as rude, albeit in a less physical fashion that, than the behavior of her subjects? Then you will understand my feelings

When she admitted that the book had no discernable purpose, I should have know not to purchase it. What troubles me is that I cannot return it, so she will get a royalty for my purchase (I bought it in another city and am unlikely to return there).

While I agree with the premise, that some of the social niceties are being abandoned, I do not think Ms. Truss added anything to the debate, other than a book that reads more like a flame war on a public message board on the internet.

Guide to British behavior.......2007-01-29

Note that this book is very specific to Britain. The examples she uses, people, places, names, etc. are British. For instance, she finds groups of young drunken men walking around at night to be offensive. I think that that type of behavior is much, much more prevalent in Britain than in the U.S. or most other countries. I was at times lost by what she was saying, because I don't live in Britain.

Average customer rating: Read East, Shoots & Leaves instead... Is Exploitation a Form of Rudeness?

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 Manufacturer: Gotham ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books General | Etiquette | Reference | Subjects | Books General | Reference | Subjects | Books General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books Entertainment | Blowout Books | Stores | Books Reference | Blowout Books | Stores | Books Similar Items: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation The Lynne Truss Treasury: Columns and Three Comic Novels Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation He Just Thinks He's Not That into You: The Insanely Determined Girl's Guide to Getting the Man She Wants The Girl's Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can't Manage without Apostrophes! ASIN: 1592402402

Book Description

"Talk to the hand, 'coz the face ain't listening!" This expression has become so widespread that Lynne Truss need not even mention the name of the TV talk show where you first heard it. It's a perfect example of how boorish behavior has become a point of pride in society today. "Talk to the hand"— when did the world stop wanting to hear? When did society stop valuing basic courtesy and respect? In the spirit of her runaway hit, #1 New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss analyzes the apparent collapse of manners in our daily lives, and tells us what we can do about it.

Why are our dealings with strangers becoming more unpleasant day by day? When did "please" and "thank you" become passé? When did the words "hello," "good-bye," and "good morning" fall out of common usage? Why do people behave as if public spaces are their own chip-strewn living rooms? Talk to the Hand is a rallying cry for a return to civility in our "eff off" society and a colorful call to arms— from the wittiest defender of the civilized world. BACKCOVER: The Queen of Sticklers takes on the sorry state of modern manners.

"Without knocking anyone down on your way, hurry to the bookstore for a copy of Talk to the Hand… Long live the Queen of Zero Tolerance. And heaven help the rest of us."
—The New York Times Book Review

"Yes, people are now ruder than ever, and no, there's no excuse for it: The outraged and slighted can find solace in Talk to the Hand."
—New York Post

"Lynne Truss is "the Doyenne of Do's and Don'ts."
—Newsday

"The hilarious British fusspot is back with Talk to the Hand… in which she trains her zero tolerance wit on rude behavior, from the death of thank-you notes to the ubiquity of the F- word."
—Glamour

"She's cranky, she's articulate, and she's absolutely right. Just as she fomented a revolution in language, now she foments a revolution in behavior. You'll find yourself nodding in agreement; then you'll find yourself speaking up."
—Victoria Skurnick, Editor-in-Chief, Book-of-the-Month Club

"She can make 201 pages fly by as you snicker and chuckle, recognizing your own modern world in every paragraph. [...] Reading Talk to the Hand, you can enjoy a good laugh to offset the daily rudeness."
—The Kentucky Herald-Leader

Customer Reviews:

Read East, Shoots & Leaves instead..........2006-12-03

Lynne Truss' follow-up to her bestselling book "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" is another humorously titled book called "Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six God Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door". However, that is where the comparison ends.

In "Talk to the Hand", Truss babbles on about her list of social no-no's with an attempt at humor that just falls flat. She tries to justify her disgust with society by slapping us all on the wrist for our lack of respect and courtesy towards others. Yet she just comes off as a grumpy, negative person who feels the need to tell others all about her fussiness. For example, Truss rants about the internet and its use of menu options, which she calls choices.

Other items that bother Truss include skateboarders, automated credit card phone service, people not waving "thank you" in cars, and how people raise their children (luckily Truss is childless). She then moves on to complain about society's morals.

Truss complains about people littering then later admits she's terrible about recycling. She complains that we've lost our sense of community, yet subtitles her book "six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door." So if you do stay home, I recommend you drop this book into the recycling bin and pick up a book that's worth reading.

Is Exploitation a Form of Rudeness?.......2006-10-29

The dust jacket tells it all. Ms. Truss is a radio host and a newspaper columnist and this little book appears to be a quickly collected concoction of bits from her radio and journalistic lives designed to capitalize on Eats, Shoots and Leaves. The reader is predisposed to agree with the premise, but the contents are slap-dash and random. One can almost hear the radio host stream-of consciousness wanderings when reading this.

Was Ms. Truss rude to pass this off on her public?

Average customer rating:

Talk to the Hand and Making the Cat Laugh The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door Manufacturer: Books on Tape ProductGroup: Book Binding: Audio Cassette ASIN: 1415923833

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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 Manufacturer: Gotham Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0739467255

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Dissed & dismissed.(Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door)(Book review): An article from: New Criterion Leslie Lenkowsky Manufacturer: Thomson Gale ProductGroup: Book Binding: Digital General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books Political Science | Nonfiction | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books General | Nonfiction | HTML | Formats | e-Docs | Formats | Books Political Science | Nonfiction | HTML | Formats | e-Docs | Formats | Books ASIN: B000FIGKI8 Release Date: 2006-04-25

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1226 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Dissed & dismissed.(Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door)(Book review)
Author: Leslie Lenkowsky
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 24 Issue: 7 Page: 71(3)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Missed manners: Lynne Truss thinks people are getting ruder. She can shove it.(On Political Books)(Talk To The Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World ... : An article from: Washington Monthly Elizabeth Austin Manufacturer: Thomson Gale ProductGroup: Book Binding: Digital History | Subjects | Books | Africa | Americas | Ancient | Arctic & Antarctica | Asia | Australia & Oceania | Books on CD | Books on Cassette | Europe | Gay & Lesbian | Historical Study | Large Print | Middle East | Military | Military Science | Russia | United States | World General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Political Science | Nonfiction | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books General | History | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books General | History | HTML | Formats | e-Docs | Formats | Books General | Nonfiction | HTML | Formats | e-Docs | Formats | Books Political Science | Nonfiction | HTML | Formats | e-Docs | Formats | Books ASIN: B000CZ0KSA Release Date: 2005-12-14

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Washington Monthly, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1657 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Missed manners: Lynne Truss thinks people are getting ruder. She can shove it.(On Political Books)(Talk To The Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door)(Book Review)
Author: Elizabeth Austin
Publication: Washington Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 37 Issue: 12 Page: 42(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World, or Six Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door Lynne Truss Manufacturer: audible.com ProductGroup: Book Binding: Audio Download ASIN: B000CCE4LW

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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 Manufacturer: Gotham ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Humor, Comics & Pop Culture | Bargain Books | Stores | Books General | Reference | Bargain Books | Stores | Books ASIN: B000VPKFRW

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