Overview

Americans have long been fascinated with the oddness of the British, but the English, says literary critic Terry Eagleton, find their transatlantic neighbors just as strange. Only an alien race would admiringly refer to a colleague as ""aggressive,"" use superlatives to describe everything from one's pet dog to one's rock collection, or speak frequently of being ""empowered."" Why, asks Eagleton, must we broadcast our children's school grades with bumper stickers announcing ""My Child Made the Honor Roll""? Why don't we appreciate the indispensability of the teapot? And why must we remain so irritatingly optimistic, even when all signs point to failure? On his quirky journey through the language, geography, and national character of the United States, Eagleton proves to be at once an informal and utterly idiosyncratic guide to our peculiar race. He answers the questions his compatriots have always had but (being British) dare not ask, like why Americans willingly rise at the crack of dawn, even on Sundays, or why we publicly chastise cigarette smokers as if we're all spokespeople for the surgeon general. In this pithy, warmhearted, and very funny book, Eagleton melds a good old-fashioned roast with genuine admiration for his neighbors ""across the pond.""

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Reviews

Terry Eagleton has a gift for the kind of generalizations that at first appear outrageous but seem, on reflection, annoyingly perceptive. Were I one of the expressive Americans he describes, I'd call this book awesome; as a constipated Brit, I'm inclined to say that it is not at all bad. Henry Hitching ...Terry Eagleton's far from unfunny new book... London Review of Books

Terry Eagleton has a gift for the kind of generalizations that at first appear outrageous but seem, on reflection, annoyingly perceptive. Were I one of the expressive Americans he describes, I'd call this book awesome; as a constipated Brit, I'm inclined to say that it is not at all bad. Henry Hitching ...Terry Eagleton's far from unfunny new book... London Review of Books It's [Across the Pond] all impossibly well argued, tendentious, provocative, sometimes slightly mad and occasionally quite wrong (just for the sake of it, I suspect). It's also great fun, and the perfect present for a thin-skinned friend across the pond. The Spectator

"""Terry Eagleton has a gift for the kind of generalizations that at first appear outrageous but seem, on reflection, annoyingly perceptive. Were I one of the expressive Americans he describes, I'd call this book awesome; as a constipated Brit, I'm inclined to say that it is not at all bad."" Henry Hitching ""...Terry Eagleton's far from unfunny new book..."" London Review of Books ""It's [Across the Pond] all impossibly well argued, tendentious, provocative, sometimes slightly mad and occasionally quite wrong (just for the sake of it, I suspect). It's also great fun, and the perfect present for a thin-skinned friend across the pond."" The Spectator"

Author Information

Terry Eagleton was born in Manchester, England. The author of more than forty books, including the seminal Literary Theory: An Introduction, he has taught at Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of Manchester. He resides in Dublin, Ireland, with his wife and children.

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