About the Book

“Idiosyncratic but intellectually rigorous . . . this book is an irreducible argument that the F word, used properly, can in fact be its own kind of poetry.”
— Kathleen Rooney, Chicago Tribune

A Field Guide to the F Word explores its history from the fifteenth century, its blossoming in World War II, and its evolution into contemporary acceptance. Its linguistic and syntactic peculiarities are explained, alternative words evaluated, its etiquette and misuse clearly defined, and its nuances exposed—without The Word appearing in print. Charming, thought-provoking, playful, subtle, and all in good clean fun. A Field Guide to the F Word is your ticket to social success.

"As hilarious as it is well-researched, mixing vernacular phrasing with technical precision worthy of the Chicago Manual of Style. Parker manages to accomplish this without writing the word itself, making this the perfect gift for the word nerd in your family, no matter how sensitive or foulmouthed."
— Glenn Dallas, Manhattan Book Review

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“I think this is the best f***ing work on the subject that I have seen!”
—Laurence Urdang, Editor
VERBATIM, The Language Quarterly

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Illustrated by Nan Fowler
Graphics by Val Sherer

About the Author

Ben was involved in World War II from the very beginning, having been at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. His service in the Navy included tours of duty in the Pacific. His service in the Navy in World War II is, no doubt, where his appreciation of the subtleties of The Word began. Now long retired from Fibreboard Corporation’s Creative Packaging Design Center on the San Francisco waterfront, Ben lives among the secluded hills of Marin County. He sums up his 94 years with: “Occasionally I exhibited a trace of maturity.”