“It takes true brilliance to lift the arid tellings of lexicographic fussing into the readable realm of the thriller and the bodice-ripper….David Skinner has done precisely this, taking a fine story and honing it to popular perfection.” —Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman The Story of Ain’t by David Skinner is the captivating true chronicle of the creation of Merriam Webster’s Third New International Dictionary in 1961, the most controversial dictionary ever published. Skinner’s surprising and engaging, erudite and witty account will enthrall fans of Winchester’s The Professor and the Madman and The Meaning of Everything, and The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs, as it explores a culture in transition and the brilliant, colorful individuals behind it. The Story of Ain’t is a smart, often outrageous, and altogether remarkable tale of how egos, infighting, and controversy shaped one of America’s most authoritative language texts, sparking a furious language debate that the late, great author David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest) once called “the Fort Sumter of the Usage Wars.”  A Gripping Language Controversy: Discover why the 1961 publication of Merriam-Webster’s Third was called a 'calamity' and sparked a national debate over the very soul of the English language. - The History of the English Language: Go behind the scenes of dictionary making to meet the brilliant, colorful, and warring personalities who fought to define how Americans speak. - Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism: Explore the central battle between traditionalists who believe a dictionary should prescribe correct usage and the modern linguists who argue it must only describe the language as it’s actually used. - American Cultural History: A compelling slice of mid-century American history, this chronicle reveals how cultural shifts, world wars, and changing social norms fueled the 'Usage Wars.' “Skinner is good on the development of 20th-century linguistics and on the interplay between America’s language and its sense of itself.” - Financial Times “An engrossing account of the continuing ruckus over Webster’s Third New International Dictionary .” - New York Times Book Review “…comprehensive and evenhanded, and written in a clear and jaunty style…What in less skilled hands might have been arid and parochial in David Skinner’s becomes a lively account of a subject of interest to anyone concerned about the English language in America.” - Weekly Standard “[Skinner] provides well-argued critiques of the orthodoxies that define language studies” - New York Times “...delightful new book on lexicography…Skinner leaves no doubt as to the importance of Webster’s Third as the game-changer in dictionary standards and the impetus for an American cultural metamorphosis.” - Shelf Awareness “…spry cultural history” - Harper's “Mr. Skinner weaves a true tale fascinating not just to linguists and lexicographers, but to anyone interested in the evolution of our language during a critical period in America’s History.” - New York Journal of Books “A highly entertaining, thoughtful new book.” - Boston Globe “Skinner has written an entertaining book about a controversy that still lingers and throws light on how emotional our ties to language are….a funny and informative account.” - Columbus Dispatch “…comprehensive and evenhanded, and written in a clear and jaunty style…What in less skilled hands might have been arid and parochial in David Skinner’s becomes a lively account of a subject of interest to anyone concerned about the English language in America.” - Weekly Standard “David Skinner tells the tale of a great battle in the 1960s War Between the Real and the Ideal. It was a conflict with realists laying claim to idealism and idealists asserting realism and vice versa. Skinner makes it all clear.” - P.J. O'Rourke, New York Times bestselling author of Holidays in Heck and Don't Vote--It Just Encourages “ The Story of Ain’t is a book about words, the national character, and the inevitability of change. And it’s so fun, you might not even realize that you’re joining the debate.” - Hillsdale Collegian “A cultural story as much as a linguistic one, teeming with colorful characters and big ideas, The Story of Ain’t is a must read for anybody who loves language.” - Toby Lester, author of Da Vinci's Ghost and The Fourth Part of the World “Skinner…offers a highly entertaining and intelligent re-creation of events surrounding the 1961 publication of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary by G. & C. Merriam…a rich and absorbing exploration of the changing standards in American language and culture.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A fascinating, highly entertaining cultural history that will enchant an audience beyond word nerds....Skinner nimbly, concisely--and without academic dryness--traces the everyday changes that shaped what came out of Americans’ mouths and into our dictionaries.