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

For four hundred years, Americans have been told to watch their language. For four hundred years, they haven’t listened.

From Puritan colonies where blasphemy could earn you a whipping to Civil War camps, jazz clubs, comedy stages, rock festivals, rap lyrics, and presidential politics, Four-Letter Nation tells the surprising, rollicking history of America’s forbidden words—and shows that “bad language” has never been merely about bad manners.

The words Americans are not supposed to say have ...