{"product_id":"9781472922489","title":"The Word at War : World War Two in 100 Phrases","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Word at War\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Philip Gooden, Peter Lewis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWar words have embedded themselves in our collective psyche; British politicians are fond of invoking the 'Dunkirk spirit' whenever the country is faced with major crisis or even minor adversity, and Roosevelt's famous description of Pearl Harbor as 'a date which will live in infamy' was echoed by many US commentators after the 9\/11 attacks. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e So far, so familiar. Or is it? How many of us know, for instance, that 'Keep Calm and Carry On', far from achieving its morale-boosting aim, was considered at the time to be deeply patronizing by the people it was directed at, and so had only limited distribution? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Word at War\u003c\/i\u003e explores 100 phrases spawned and popularized in the lead-up and during the conflict of World War Two. Substantial essays explore and explain the derivations of, and the stories behind, popular terms and phraseology of the period, including wartime speeches (and the words of Churchill, Hitler and FDR); service slang; national stereotypes; food and drink; and codewords.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This eloquent pair of authors are a language lover's dream. The book captures the pugnacious parlance of wartime in all its oxymorons, its inventive acronyms, its clever rhetoric, its racy slang and its appalling euphemisms. There are surprises, too: humour, sexiness and neology: Jeep, SPAM, flak, kamikaze and mega, to name a few linguistic creations. The enduring semantic legacy, over seven decades, teaches us a lot about how we communicate in a crisis; something that's particularly pertinent today.” —\u003ci\u003eGuardian 'Mind your language' columnist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Much of the value in this little book lies in the similarly extensive  background details that Gooden and Lewis supply throughout.” —\u003ci\u003eWorld Wide Words\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This wonderful book defines the wartime words and phrases that still resonate in the language of peacetime.” —\u003ci\u003eSaga Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781472922489\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Information","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40647808483534,"sku":"9781472922489","price":13.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_691ac43a-de93-4dc4-8a80-cbd2cb53e089.jpg?v=1639188141","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781472922489","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}