{"product_id":"word-nerd-john-d-williams-9781631491900","title":"Word Nerd: Dispatches from the Games, Grammar, and Geek Underground","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeginning his career on a lark as a freelance contributor to \u003cem\u003eSCRABBLE News\u003c\/em\u003e, John D. Williams fell down a rabbit hole inhabited by gamers, geeks, and the grammar police. For twenty-five years, as the executive director of the National SCRABBLE Association, Williams served as the official spokesperson for the game, and as the middleman between legions of fanatical word-game fans and the official brand. Now \u003cem\u003eWord Nerd\u003c\/em\u003e takes readers inside the byzantine, dog-eat-dog world of top tournament players, creating a piquant (seven-letter word, 68 points!) work that is part pop-cultural history, part anthropological study. Indeed, what Christopher Guest did for the world of dog shows in his film \u003cem\u003eBest in Show\u003c\/em\u003e, Williams does for the world of competitive word games in this funny and perfectly observed memoir.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs readers will discover, \u003cem\u003eWord Nerd\u003c\/em\u003e explores anagrams, palindromes, the highest-scoring SCRABBLE plays of all time, the birth of the World SCRABBLE Championship, as well as many of the more colorful figures that inhabit this subculture. Die-hard word fans will find invaluable tips on how top players see their boards and racks to come up with the best play, how they prepare, and the psychology of tournament competition. Those uninitiated in the mysteries of SCRABBLE mania will find a delightful, madcap memoir about all the fun people have with language and how words shape our lives and culture in unexpected ways.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhether reminiscing about past national champions, detailing the controversy over efforts to purge the \u003cem\u003eOfficial SCRABBLE Players Dictionary\u003c\/em\u003e of all offensive words, opining on the number of vowelless words that are allowable (cmw for a Welsh deep-walled basin or nth for the ultimate degree), noting how long it takes a word to get into a dictionary, or explaining why there remain more male than female champions, Williams crafts a loving tribute to words and the games people play with them. \u003cem\u003eWord Nerd\u003c\/em\u003e will fascinate both amateurs and seasoned experts alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John D. Williams\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1631491903\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781631491900\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Liveright Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/19\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.40w x 0.70d","brand":"John D. Williams","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44078177845503,"sku":"9781631491900","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8403244f-73be-45dd-97ac-df7cbbe03faf.jpg?v=1685473985","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/word-nerd-john-d-williams-9781631491900","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}