Dear Ann Landers: Our Intimate and Changing Dialogue With America's Best-Loved Confidante

This exploration of the Ann Landers phenomenon introduces the woman behind the pen--Eppie Lederer--and discusses how America's values toward family, love, sex, marriage, and lifestyle have evolved in the thirty-two years since the advice column's inceptio Read more Continue reading Read less FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Professor of literature at Cornell University, Grossvogel cites his "insatiable interest in popular culture" as the impetus for this look at Esther Pauline ("Eppie") Lederer, popular "Dear Ann" columnist. His interview with the forthright, witty, empathetic journalist reveals her as a proverbial Jewish mother, raised, she notes, on solid Midwestern values. Selections from the columns printed here reflect changes both in social issues and Landers's advice since the topsy-turvy 1960s. Her counsel reflects her basic common sense, even on controversial topics; her readers write her about matters as disparate as funding for cancer research, child care, how to make meat loaf or hang toilet paper. Landers expresses pride at the multiple honors she has received as the most widely syndicated columnist, most influential woman in America, etc. Also recipient of such awards is Dear Ann's rival and twin Dear Abby, who isn't mentioned in the book.
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