Review
'Rentoul has an excellent line in self-deprecating humour' ---- Steven Poole, The Guardian (on The Banned List)
'Is anyone prepared to stand up for decent linguistic standards? Step forward John Rentoul, chief political commentator for The Independent on Sunday... Rentoul's list isn't pedantry; nor is it a call for language to be frozen. It is a plea for us to think about the words we use and to aim for precision of meaning and thought.' ---- Michael Skapinker, Financial Times (on The Banned List)
'Is anyone prepared to stand up for decent linguistic standards? Step forward John Rentoul, chief political commentator for The Independent on Sunday... Rentoul's list isn't pedantry; nor is it a call for language to be frozen. It is a plea for us to think about the words we use and to aim for precision of meaning and thought.' ---- Michael Skapinker, Financial Times (on The Banned List)
Product Description
John Rentoul has been running the Questions To Which The Answer Is "No!" Awards for several years now. Celebrating the journalistic skill of basing an entire article on a fantastically far-fetched question-based headline (and only admitting that the premise is extraordinarily unlikely in the final paragraph), his blog attracts large numbers of followers keen to submit their own favourites. Here for the first time Rentoul brings together the winning entries over the years. With an introductory essay on the art of headline writing, articles are grouped thematically in subjects from sports to politics, current affairs and history. Featuring such journalistic gems as: - Was JFK killed because of his interest in aliens? - Can your dreams predict the future? - Is this penguin a communist? - Has Marilyn Monroe been reincarnated as a shop assistant called Chris? ... and many more, 'Questions To Which The Answer Is "No!"' will leave you not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the state of journalism today.
