{"product_id":"9780062027467","title":"The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published","description":"\u003cp\u003e“It takes true brilliance to lift the arid tellings of lexicographic fussing into the readable realm of the thriller and the bodice-ripper….David Skinner has done precisely this, taking a fine story and honing it to popular perfection.”\u003cbr\u003e—Simon Winchester, \u003cb\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/b\u003e bestselling author of \u003cb\u003eThe Professor and the Madman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Story of Ain’t\u003c\/b\u003e by David Skinner is the captivating true chronicle of the creation of \u003cb\u003eMerriam Webster’s Third New International Dictionary\u003c\/b\u003e in 1961, the most controversial dictionary ever published. Skinner’s surprising and engaging, erudite and witty account will enthrall fans of Winchester’s \u003cb\u003eThe Professor and the Madman\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eThe Meaning of Everything\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eThe Know-It-All\u003c\/b\u003e by A.J. Jacobs, as it explores a culture in transition and the brilliant, colorful individuals behind it. \u003cb\u003eThe Story of Ain’t\u003c\/b\u003e is a smart, often outrageous, and altogether remarkable tale of how egos, infighting, and controversy shaped one of America’s most authoritative language texts, sparking a furious language debate that the late, great author David Foster Wallace (\u003cb\u003eInfinite Jest\u003c\/b\u003e) once called “the Fort Sumter of the Usage Wars.”  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47021939851504,"sku":"9780062027467","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780062027467_p0.jpg?v=1763626275","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780062027467","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}