“Lucinda Holdforth (what a perfect name!) is the Marcus Aurelius of manners. She''s a genius at how to live. Why Manners Matter is a wonderful, enticing, brash, deep, witty book. Read it. It will make you the nicest person of your generation.Lucinda Holdforth (what a perfect name!) is the Marcus Aurelius of manners. She''s a genius at how to live. Why Manners Matter is a wonderful, enticing, brash, deep, witty book. Read it. It will make you the nicest person of your generation.”
— E. Jean Carroll Elle columnist on Why Manners Matter
Why Manners Matter
What Confucius, Jefferson, and Jackie O Knew and You Should Too
by Lucinda Holdforth
In this age of global warming and warfare, aren’t manners frivolous? Do manners really matter? Yes! Lucinda Holdforth passionately exclaims. Holdforth wonderfully manages to show that manners are not about saying please and thank you, or about teaching your children to address people by Mr. or Mrs. Citing everyone from Erasmus, Tocqueville, T.S. Elliot to George Orwell and Proust and Borat, Holdforth shows how manners- which many of us might think are inconsequential-are actually the cornerstone to civilization.