"Witty, well-reasoned, and, yes, occasionally potty mouthed, the fiercely talented Lucinda Holdforth may be doing more to save civilization than anyone I know. Holdforth has held forth, and for this I bow down low before her." -Henry Alford, author of How To Live

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.