Junk English 2Paperback, 30 September 2004

Junk English 2 combines basic advice -- peppered with contemporary examples of alarmingly common verbal atrocities -- with entertaining invective. Based on the author's uncounted hours of exposure to infomercials, ads, and other dubious cultural forms, the book covers topics like parasitic intensifiers, -ize verbs, and the dreaded weasel words. Useless cabooses -- as well as frequently abused words like focus, factor, and process -- are examined and put in their proper place, as are the seemingly unstoppable impulses toward vagueness and euphemisms. Written so that the ordinary writer and speaker of English can readily see the manipulations of language, especially in the post-9/11 era, Junk English 2 is useful as a quick reference, a source for further exploration, and a fun read. The book is arranged alphabetically, like a dictionary, providing a compendium of frequently abused words and suggested alternates.