Nine Nasty Words

I skimmed much of this because it was so chock-filled with details, history, etymology, and anecdote. I knew that I couldn't retain it all, but it's the sort of book that would be fun to come back to now and then or to use in a class (which is how I came to know about it – from a teacher friend). I appreciated the section on the N-word a lot, as well as the attention to how certain words have become less impactful over time. The author spells out the N-word, but also explains why he's made that choice. Throughout, I appreciated the humor and the history even though I breezed through some of the detailed evolution stories.