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How To Become A Scandal: Adventures In Bad Behavior (2010)

by Laura Kipnis(Favorite Author)

3.32 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0805089799 (ISBN13: 9780805089790)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Metropolitan Books

review 1: In this book, Kipnis explores the nature of the scandal in our culture -- why do we love to heap scorn on our scapegoats? Why do people do such stupid things? Why this one and not that one? The book is structured around four different case-study scandals: Lisa Nowak (the diapered astronaut), Sol Wachtler (the judge who blackmailed his mistress), Linda Tripp (Monica Lewinsky's "friend" who taped their conversations about Clinton), and James Frey (the author of a memoir that turned out to be more of a novel, which really made Oprah mad). Kipnis makes some good points about the self-contradictions inherent in human nature, but she is definitely at her best when riffing off a specific incident and much less readable in her her more philosophical introduction and epilogue. Part... mores of this book feel thrown together right before publication, and some of her connections are pretty tenuous, but overall it is worth reading if you are interested in scandal or reliving these scandalous gems from the past.
review 2: Some insightful analysis, written in a witty and entertaining way. The authors point out very many things that are wrong in our society, but also reiterates that most are intrinsic. The biggest point is that; we do things knowingly and consciously despite the fact that we often know the consequences. I liked the fact that the author didn't deem herself righteous and was not preaching, she is simply deciphering our psyche leaving it to us to make conclusions. less

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