Four-Letter Nation: The Long Dirty History of American Profanity

The untold story of how America really talks, for readers of Mary Roach and Bill Bryson—and anyone who’s ever wondered about the power of “bad” words.

For 400 years, Americans have been told to watch their language. For 400 years, they've refused to listen.

From Puritan colonies where blasphemy could get you whipped, to Civil War battlefields where profanity became poetry, to modern comedy clubs where curse words became currency, Four-Letter Nation uncovers the rogues and revolutionaries wh...