Magill R. Jay. Chic Ironic Bitterness

University of Michigan Press, 2007. — 296 p. — ISBN10 0472116215 ISBN13 9780472116218.A brilliant and timely reflection on irony in contemporary American culture.
Chic Ironic Bitterness is a defense of this detachment, an attitude that helps us preserve values such as authenticity, sincerity, and seriousness that might otherwise be lost in a world filled with spin, marketing, and jargon. And it is an effective counterweight to the prevailing conservative view that irony is the first step toward cynicism and the breakdown of Western culture.