Dish: how gossip became the news and the news became just another show

“Provocative and invariably entertaining” a #1 New York Times bestselling author “gives dishing the dirt its historical, social and political due” (Publishers Weekly). From #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle, now a major motion picture, comes an incisive study of our obsession with gossip. Gossip. It’s more than just hearsay, society columns, and supermarket tabloids. It has, like it or not, become a mainstay of American pop culture. In Dish, industry insider Jeannette Walls gives this intriguing subject its due, offering a comprehensive, serious exploration of gossip and its social, historical, and political significance. Examining the topic from the inside out, Walls looks at the players; the origins of gossip, from birth of People magazine to the death of Lady Di; and how technology including the Internet will continue to change the face of gossip. As compelling and seductive as its subject matter, Dish brilliantly reveals the fascinating inner workings of a phenomenon that is definitely here to stay. “A history of how gossip became the news . . . Saucy, sassy . . .” —Los Angeles Times “Truly intelligent and absorbing.” —The Boston Sunday Globe “Dish is a mouthful.” —San Antonio Express News “A serious and accurate history of a persistent part of media coverage.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Extraordinary.” —Don Imus “Hard to put down . . . Dish is irresistible.” —US Weekly “It’s an old-fashioned sideshow, high-spirited, mean-spirited, and plenty of guilty fun.” —Kirkus Reviews “Strewn with delicious tidbits.” —Entertainment Weekly Well-researched and intelligent.” —New York Daily News “Both an entertaining insider’s look and a solid history of gossip.” —Library Journal “A fascinating, dishy story.” —Booklist