How Shakespeare Changed Everything

<p><strong>Nearly four hundred years after his death Shakespeare permeates our everyday lives: from the words we speak to the teenage heartthrobs we worship to the political rhetoric spewed by the twenty-four-hour news cycle. In the pages of this wickedly clever little book <em>Esquire</em> columnist Stephen Marche uncovers the hidden influence of Shakespeare in our culture.</strong></p><p>Some fascinating tidbits: </p><ul>Shakespeare coined more than 1700 words including <em>hobnob</em> <em>glow</em> <em>lackluster</em> and <em>dawn</em>.</li>Paul Robeson's 1943 performance as Othello on Broadway was a seminal moment in black history.</li>Tolstoy wrote an entire book about Shakespeare's failures as a writer.</li>In 1936 the Nazi Party tried to claim Shakespeare as a Germanic writer.</li>Without Shakespeare the book titles <em>Infinite Jest</em> <em>The Sound and the Fury</em> and <em>Brave New World</em> wouldn't exist.</li>The name Jessica was first used in <em>The Merchant of Venice</em>.</li>Freud's idea of a healthy sex life came directly from the Bard.</li></ul><p>Stephen Marche has cherry-picked the sweetest and most savory historical footnotes from Shakespeare's work and life to create this unique celebration of the greatest bard of all time.</p>