Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn’t Total Garbage

In this rollicking survey, sports writer Kohan (The Arena) examines how trash talk, which he calls “a specific form of incivility” that “allows people to communicate when they’re going head-to-head,” functions in sports, the military, stand-up comedy, and politics. Though athletes usually trash-talk their opponents “in hopes of interfering with their concentration or otherwise diminishing their performance,” Kohan notes that L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant “used verbal and physical challenges to feel out guys in his own locker room,” believing he could rely on those who bantered back to give their all on the court. Studying incivility in politics, Kohan contends that the insults Donald Trump throws at his political adversaries create an us-versus-them dynamic that strengthens his base’s identification with him. Elsewhere, Kohan discusses how the U.S. Army prepares soldiers for possible capture with drills that involve shouting personalized invective at them and how comedians negotiate going “too far” when roasting each other. Kohan’s nuanced inquiry highlights trash talk’s surprisingly diverse applications, and he’s never less than entertaining (“To call it dark humor would be a disservice to Pantone charts everywhere,” Kohan writes of the withering insults at a comedy roast). This is a blast. (Dec.)