War of Words: Language, Politics and 9/11

At first there were no words to describe the horror of September 11, only a national hush that expressed the sudden absence of so many innocent lives. Then the floodgates opened: eyewitness accounts, expert analyses, bitter denunciations, tributes to fallen heroes, patriotic exhortations, eulogies, spin. Almost immediately, the Bush Administration and the media launched rhetorical campaigns aimed at manufacturing support for the 'War on Terror'. The first book to explore the full impact of 9/11 on America's psyche, War of Words takes a critical look at the strategic use of language to create a series of national transformations: A terrorist attack became an 'act of war', requiring commensurate response. The President, until then the butt of national jokes, ascended to Commander in Chief, while the leader of the city we love to hate became 'America's mayor'. TV ads for cars and clothing featured flags and firefighters, transforming consumerism into patriotism. With a keen ear for the hidden messages in our national stories, Sandra Silberstein unearths the dark side of this patriotic rhetoric, including the attacks on those who question U.S. policy and the denunciation of liberal intellectuals by the conservative American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Timely and penetrating, War of Words shows how the stories we told after the attacks fashioned a post-9/11 American identity and reinscribed our national beliefs. * probes the stories we told after the attack for clues about our changing national character * documents the startling offenses against civil liberties in the post-9/11 climate * shows how language and sentimental appeals were manipulated to transform a national tragedy into a consumer opportunity.

Table of Contents:
1. Terror or War?  The War on Terror  2. Becoming President  3. From News to Entertainment: Eyewitness Accounts  4. New York becomes America(n)  5. Selling America  6. 'The New McCarthyism'  7. Teaching America

About the Author :
Sandra Silberstein is a leading name in applied linguistics, and Professor of English at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is widely published, and has written articles on a number of politically sensitive topics, including the OJ Simpson trial, the Gulf War, AIDS and the Inauguration of George Bush.

Review :
"...a compelling analysis of the way language was used in the political construction of the horrifying historical events of September 11th. Silberstein's analysis gives us a fresh look at the juggernaut of world politics as it is constructed in the linguistic actions of the media, of world leaders, and of the ordinary people who experience world events." - Ron Scollon, Georgetown University "The brief study, War of Words, by Sandra Silberstein, an 'applied linguist,' offers shrewd analysis of the language used after September 11. She shrewdly analyzes how the comments by Peter Jennings while broadcasting the service on September 14 at the National Cathedral helped define the event as one of the 'great national occasions." - Columbia Journalism Review "This isn't exactly foreign policy, but close enough. Sandra Silberstein...examines how language has been torqued since the terrorist attacks. The president, formerly the butt of jokes, becomes the commander-in-chief, to give just one example. She concludes that the national tragedy has been manipulated into a consumer opportunity--a charge from which the proliferation of 9/11 books is not exempt." - Vancouver Sun ' ... the book presents a timely discussion of issues of great importance to America, in particular, and the whole world, in general ... the book is informative and well-organised.' - Discourse and Society