Yet More Advertisements for Myself

May seem like an odd day to release a book, but linguist Steven Pinker spends the first chunk of The Stuff of Thought training his ear on the language surrounding September 11 and its aftermath. How many attacks were there on the World Trade Center, one or two? The answer matters in the billions of dollars. Then there's the question of Bush's notorious State of the Union address, and how much his mendacity turns on the word "learned."

And then, through some dogleg of logic, there's a long section at the end on why humans swear. Pinker unleashes the foulest string of naughty words, and no one knows this more viscerally than I, since I recorded the audiobook. Unsuitable for long car rides with the kids!