Lary Bloom
Writer, Editor, Teacher
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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
On Bullshit, Examined
It's irresistible. It reflects brilliant marketing. It sits, in most bookstores, near the register, and becomes an impulse buy. It's priced right at $9.95. It's written by a Princeton professor, no less. It has become a best seller. It's On Bullshit. And it's, well, how shall I say it?Harry G. Frankfurt, I may reasonably presume from a quick read (it's only 65 pages), devoted the greater part of an hour to researching an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.
This is an impressive lesson. Most writers require a year or two of heavy interviews and plowing through dusty shelves to produce tedious books. Frankfurt is a master at saving time, going right to the center of his subject, and in doing so fulfilling a great human need to examine and dissect the matter.
He may detect here some disparagement of his end product, so to speak. And he may rightly accuse me of sour grapes. I wish it had been my idea. Even so, the professor inspires. Please do take his example, all you writers out there. If a best seller can be written about bullshit, there are opportunities galore. We yet await treatises on Nose Hair, Crotch Rot, and Toe-Jam.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 6:15 AM
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