Slam Dunks and No-Brainers

In this marvelously original book three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Leslie Savan offers fascinating insights into why were all talking the talkDuh; Bring it on!; Bling; Whatever!and what this reveals about America today. Savan traces the paths that phrases like these travel from obscure slang to pop stardom selling everything from cars (ads for VWs Mitsubishis and Mercurys all pitch them as no-brainers) to wars (finding WMD in Iraq was to be a slam dunk). Real people create these catchy phrases but once media politics and businesses broadcast them they burst out of our mouths as celebrity words newly glamorous and powerful. Witty fun and full of thought-provoking stories about the origins of popular expressions Slam Dunks and No-Brainers is for everyone who loves the mysteries of language.