Edwin L. Battistella teaches linguistics and writing at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, where he has served as a dean and as interim provost. He is the author of Do You Make These Mistakes in English? (OUP, 2009), Bad Language (OUP, 2005), and The Logic of Markedness (OUP, 1996).

Conditional apologies, vague apologies, apologies not accepted: Why is it so hard to say we're sorry and be done with it? With a clear eye and prose that never drags, Ed Battistella brilliantly illuminates the hidden dynamics of public apologies from the Oprah Winfrey Show to Mel Gibson's downfall and from Joe Biden's doubletalk to Woodrow Wilson's shoelace-chewing mea culpa. You won't be sorry you read this book.

• Introduction ; 1. The Scope of Apologies ; 2. How Apologies Succeed and Fail ; 3. How We Literally Apologize ; 4. Sorry, Regrets, and More ; 5. True Confessions ; 6. Verbal Self-defense ; 7. National Apologies ; 8. International Apologies ; 9. Why We Apologize, or Don't ; 10. Apology in American Culture ; A Reader's Guide to Analyzing Apologies ; References ; Bibliography ; Index

Edwin L. Battistella teaches linguistics and writing at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, where he has served as a dean and as interim provost. He is the author of Do You Make These Mistakes in English? (OUP, 2009), Bad Language (OUP, 2005), and The Logic of Markedness (OUP, 1996).

Conditional apologies, vague apologies, apologies not accepted: Why is it so hard to say we're sorry and be done with it? With a clear eye and prose that never drags, Ed Battistella brilliantly illuminates the hidden dynamics of public apologies from the Oprah Winfrey Show to Mel Gibson's downfall and from Joe Biden's doubletalk to Woodrow Wilson's shoelace-chewing mea culpa. You won't be sorry you read this book.

• Introduction ; 1. The Scope of Apologies ; 2. How Apologies Succeed and Fail ; 3. How We Literally Apologize ; 4. Sorry, Regrets, and More ; 5. True Confessions ; 6. Verbal Self-defense ; 7. National Apologies ; 8. International Apologies ; 9. Why We Apologize, or Don't ; 10. Apology in American Culture ; A Reader's Guide to Analyzing Apologies ; References ; Bibliography ; Index