A Short History of Rudeness Manners, Morals, and Misbehavior in Modern America [Paperback]

The perceived breakdown of civility has in recent years become a national obsession, and our modern climate of boorishness has cultivated a host of etiquette watchdogs, like Miss Manners and Martha Stewart, who defend us against an onslaught of nastiness. Touching on aspects of both our public and private lives, including work, family, and sex, literary and social critic Mark Caldwell examines how the rules of behavior inevitably change and explains why, no matter how hard we try, we can never return to a golden era of civilized manners and mores.

Mark Caldwellis a literary critic and the author of an acclaimed sociomedical history of tuberculosis in America,The Last Crusade. He teaches at Fordham University and lives in Manhattan and New York's Hudson Valley.

Introduction 1

Part OnePublic Life
Chapter 1
Colonel Mann and Mrs. Post:
Manners, Morals, and Class in Modern America 15

Chapter 2
Manners in Motion:
The Rise of Mobility and the Breakdown of Public Behavior 46

Chapter 3
Manners from Nine to Five:
Etiquette and Power in the American Workplace 69

Chapter 4
Bride, Groom, and Corpse:
Rituals and Rites of Passage 93

Chapter 5
Virtual Rudeness:
Mass Media, Mass Communications, Mass Mannerlessness 119

Part TwoPrivate Life
Chapter 6
Mr. Bok and Martha:
The Triumph of Lifestyle 147

Chapter 7
The Lady in the Boutique and the Man in the G-String:
Etiquette, Race, and Gender 168

Chapter 8
From Jean-Jacques to Dr. Spock:
Parents, Children, and Discipline 188

Chapter 9
Co-Ed Naked Neo-Victorianism:
Manners and Sex in the Nineties 212

Epilogue
Manners for the Millennium 237
Notes 245
Index 265

Refreshing...[Caldwell] packs in his information with unobtrusive dexterity in a style that is modest, readable, intelligent and companionable. Naomi Bliven, The New York Times Bl³-