Sucking Up
Suck-up. Ass-kisser. Brownnoser. Bootlicker. Lickspittle. Toadeater... Found in every walk of life, both real and imagined, sycophants surround us. But whether we grumble about sycophancy or grudgingly tolerate it as a price of getting along in a complex society, we rarely examine it closely. This book humorously considers that slavish art from the historical past to our current political environment, and particularly through the revealing lens of literature. Some of the grandest examples of yes-men appear in these pages--from Dante’s flatterers and Dickens’s Uriah Heep to Kellyanne Conway, who urged us to "go buy Ivanka’s stuff," and the obsequious soul who apologized to Vice President Cheney for being shot by him.More relevant now than ever, as sucking up becomes the master trope of the Trump era, this choice romp through the spectacular world of bowing and scraping will entertain and enlighten.
-Sucking Up is a terrific book. And I'm not just saying that because the authors have called me the greatest living American writer.
- KirkusA short book with a fierce bite.
- Washington Post[A] pithy, tongue-in-cheek exploration of the history of flattery.
- ElectricLitWe have entered a period of spectacular bowing and scraping, in which White House staff compete publicly in stroking the ego of their flattery-addicted boss.... [Sucking Up] examines sycophancy from several perspectives — from the earliest types in classical literature and history, through the models developed by modern sociology, but most of all through the lens of literature.
- Guy RathbunA delightful read, really fascinating subject, real eye-opener for me... this book is small but it really has a lot packed in there.
- Howard Lovy · Foreword ReviewsAs Deborah and Mark Parker would put it, humans have been perfecting the art of "sucking up" to get ahead for a long, long time. With tongue not always in cheek, the authors give an account of ass-kissing from the ancient Romans to Kellyanne Conway and lots of interesting history in between.
- Arlene Bynon ShowSo very, very timely.... So poignant the message. A wonderful little book.
- Jefferson ExchangeThis is a marvelous book, compact and chock full of stories.
- The Daily ProgressInspiration for the Parkers’ new book came from a hilarious evening with friends.... For two scholars armed with curiosity and a healthy sense of humor, the next natural step was to dive into some research. Time-honored classics by Dante, John Milton and Charles Dickens yield plenty of early examples. Real-life suck-ups from history’s true stories provide some of the more groaning humor in the book. And what the Parkers found proved surprising on several levels.
- WMNFThis is a fascinating book. I’ve been holding the book and laughing out loud on planes. There’s very clever humor that runs through the book and I highly recommend it—have it sitting on your lap and see the looks you get.
- CBC Day 6As with other administrations, President Trump is surrounded by people who work to flatter him and his family. What's different now is that the sucking up is very public and seemingly shameless.... But, notes Deborah, the sycophants surrounding the president aren't particularly creative or entertaining in what they say. 'What seems to be important is that it's communicated publicly and in as many media as possible.'
- Rob Brunner · The WashingtonianSucking Up is a slim but insightful look at the phenomenon...The book explores sycophancy from a number of angles, moving fluidly from social science to politics to classic literature
Deborah Parker is Professor of Italian at the University of Virginia. Mark Parker is Professor of English at James Madison University. They are coauthors of Inferno Revealed: From Dante to Dan Brown.
"Fittest Imp of Fraud"
Word Sounds and Histories
Cautionary Tales
The Science of Sycophancy
Literature and Sycophancy
Sycophancy as an Art Form
Sycophancy on the Silver Screen
Transformative Sycophancy
How Low Can One Go?
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
