The Argument Culture: Stopping America's War of Words

Written during the tumultuous Clinton years, this book describes the climate of argument that seemed to prevail in many levels of society at that time from politics to the media to education.The author describes this climate of argument and attempts to analyze some of the reasons for it. She doesn’t go so far as to suggest that all argument in all situations is bad. There are some areas where arguments are part of the necessary function of an aspect of society, such as the legal system. But she suggests that the level of hostility even in these areas may have gotten out of hand.She also tries to look for ways of cutting down on this level of hostility even where it is not possible to eliminate it altogether, such as paying attention to how other cultures manage life in these areas. Or consider having a dialogue rather than a debate or argument. Not every idea needs to be a winner-take-all proposition.I wonder how this book would be different if it were written today. I no longer follow politics or the news media closely enough to know if some of the practices referred to are still followed there, but from what I do see in these areas, I get the impression that things are worse than ever there. And many of the other areas she discusses seem to be getting worse rather than better as well.

I think this book is timely for these days when we hear terribly inept and abusive arguments on every TV channel. It is time someone pointed out the underlying divisive nature of modern American argument. It does nothing for our culture, and in fact destroys it piece by piece. Tannen takes on all these issues one by one with fair evidence and a convincing view. I used this book to teach Argument Writing and my students did not enjoy some of the chapters feeling that there was a bias on her part to find fault with so much. But I think it is because the students are so young they have little exposure to real arguments where people understand basic fairness, follow certain rules (i.e. no fallacies), are reasonable, and are willing to listen to both sides of a debate. Therefore, I feel the book did a good job of exposing them to the inequities, biases, and sheer ignorance of many of the arguments we are bombarded with today. If for nothing else, this made it a good book for young people to read. Where else can they be aware of the fallacies and breaches of logic that are blasting at them from the media on a daily basis? Thumbs up Deborah!

It is very apt for our times, in terms of the constant hostile dialogue that is so pervasive.

After reading Deborah's book I am much more aware of the aggressive combative language in our culture and the media. I feel less like a victim of it all. She helps you rise above it and see a better path. I vote for Deborah Tannen for President!

Best book for issues involving communication and the way people think!!

Tannen rules.

I wish this book could made required reading for everyone who listens to the media, watches TV news, votes, raises a family, or expresses an opinion. Tannen explains a large part of why our nation is in so many messes we are unable to deal with intelligently. She absolutely nails the problem. You'll never look at things the same way again.

great

brilliant book. very useful