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Overview
When In So Many Words first appeared in 2006, the Chicago Tribune observed that Robert Schmuhl's collection of essays offered "some of the sharpest and most informative cultural criticism available."
In So Many More Words expands on the writings in the first edition and includes seventeen new essays written during the past four years. Schmuhl analyzes the emergence of Barack Obama and evaluates America's new political landscape in light of the 2008 election. Schmuhl also looks at contemporary media and the cultural effects created by bloggers, pundits, and cable shouters. The explosive growth of news sources, he says, "comes at a public price—a continuing fragmentation of audiences and a marked decline in a commonly shared culture."
Arranged thematically, the essays are divided into three sections: Matters Political and Journalistic, Matters Literary, and Matters Person, offering readers a wide range of issues and subjects. Schmuhl introduces each section with an explanatory preview and adds postscript reflections at the end of most of the essays.
"Readers who enjoy the works of the great International Herald Tribune columnist William Pfaff and the estimable New York Times reporter and columnist Thomas Friedman will find comparable delight in Schmuhl's book. . . . [T]he book ranges confidently across presidential politics, foreign policy, history, the celebrity culture and the present crisis of the news business, all with impressively sure footing." —Chicago Tribune
Praise for the Expanded Edition:
"Bob Schmuhl is the guy I read when I want to understand how things political, cultural, and journalistic interact—and how the world works as a result. He's an analyst who is cool and collected, and so it's cool to know that he's collected, between cloth [two?] covers." —David M. Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"I've known and respected the work of Bob Schmuhl my entire professional life. This expanded version of his work shines with enthusiasm for journalism, American culture, and the English language." —Roy Peter Clark, The Poynter Institute
Synopsis
When In So Many Words first appeared in 2006, the Chicago Tribune observed that Robert Schmuhl's collection of essays offered "some of the sharpest and most informative cultural criticism available."
Now, In So Many More Words expands on the writings in the first edition and includes seventeen new essays written during the past four years. Schmuhl analyzes the emergence of Barack Obama and evaluates America's new political landscape in light of the 2008 election. Schmuhl also looks at contemporary media and the cultural effects created by nonstop commentary and argument.