Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, 2nd ed.

“Like any other life-sustaining resource,” says Marilyn McEntyre, “language can be depleted, polluted, contaminated, eroded, and filled with artificial stimulants.” With the pervasiveness of vitriol and dishonesty today, language needs to be revived and restored.

McEntyre opens Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies with a sobering chapter on the current state of American public discourse. Pointing to the commercial and political forces that affect language use in American culture, McEntyre counters with twelve constructive “strategies of stewardship”—such as challenging lies (including widely tolerated forms of deception and spin), fostering the art of conversation, and encouraging playfulness and prayerfulness in tending to words.

The second edition of this timely yet also timeless book includes updated cultural references and questions for reflection and discussion at the end, allowing a new generation of readers to apply McEntyre’s wisdom in a world that struggles with truth and graceful language more than ever before.