ebook review: a field guide to the F word

A Field Guide to the F Word explores its history from the fifteenth century, its blossoming in World War II, and its evolution into contemporary acceptance. Its linguistic and syntactic peculiarities are explained, alternative words evaluated, its etiquette and misuse clearly defined, and its nuances exposed—without The Word appearing in print. Charming, thought-provoking, playful, subtle, and all in good clean fun. A Field Guide to the F Word is your ticket to social success.







Book Review:
I don't make a habit of reading author bios before a book because I don't want to become unintentionally biased. In this case, perhaps the line "Ben was in WWII from the very beginning, having been at Pearl Harbor..." might have better prepared me for this book.
I found the book boring. How someone could possibly make the F word boring is beyond me, but Parker managed it. I was going to say something about the occasional implication that only soldiers truly have the right to use the word, but out of respect for the author's bio I'll chalk it up to writer's privilege. 
And honestly if you're going to omit a word, at least use asterisks. Use comic book symbols. Use something other than the "         " that rudely interrupts my internal reading with my brain trying to make a sound out of it. This is a pet peeve of mine in speech too, when people sort of pause or grunt instead of saying 'fuck.' Or even the more appropriate 'fudge'. Say SOMETHING. 
I'm very proud of this 96 year old man writing a book but I don't really think it's a particularly good book. Skip it. If you want a more entertaining theory on language and how curse words came about and how to use them, go on Tumblr for a while.