10/22/11

REVIEW: Word Hero by Jay Heinrichs

Description

Yes, it’s true: you can learn how to be a verbal wizard!

Ever hear someone utter an unforgettable phrase and feel yourself reacting with with…well, awe?  Ever read a great quote and think I could never come up with anything that clever?  

Daunting as it may seem, there’s nothing mystical about witcraft.  Crafting memorable lines doesn’t require DNA-encoded brilliance. What it does require is some knowledge of the tricks and techniques that make words stick.

In Word Hero, Jay Heinrichs rescues the how-to of verbal artistry from cobwebbed textbooks and makes it entirely fresh – even a little mischievous.  Fear not: on offer here are not dry, abstract ideas couched in academic jargon.  Rather, Heinrichs takes you on an amusing – and amazingly helpful – tour of the mechanisms that make powerful language work.  You’ll learn how to slyly plant your words in people’s heads and draw indelible verbal pictures by employing such tools as “crashing symbols,” “rapid repeaters,” “Russian Dolls” and even the powers of Mr. Potato Head.

With those tools and others tucked in your utility belt, you might not immediately achieve “wordsmith immortality” but you will become a better speaker, writer, and raconteur…and long after people have forgotten everything else, they’ll remember your priceless lines.

About the Author

JAY HEINRICHS has spent more than 25 years in publishing as a magazine writer, editor, and executive.  His previous book on language, Thank You for Arguing, has sold more than 100,000 copies.

Details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Original edition (October 4, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307716368
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307716361
SOURCE:  AMAZON VINE

MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT

Ever want to be the most clever person in the room, either on paper or in person? Grab this book now as your secret weapon against droll and boring speech! This book on word craft and play is probably the most humorous guide you will ever find about become a better and more memorable writer and speaker. There are exercises that help you build your skills to write more clever lines using what you already know. The author uses clever bits of television banter, most notably from the Glee series, to get you to think outside the box, around the box and even inside the box to become a more interesting writer. This is a great reference book for anyone who wants to spice up their communications a bit. This one is not leaving my shelf since it is one of the best books on the subject I have read in a long time.

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