Freud swore by it. Heidegger swore at it. Kierkegaard swore off it. In our everyday lives we can't live without it. It's just talk. Before media, before the internet there was talk. We have monologues, conversations, chats, those funny little noises - "uh-huh", "yeah" - that pad out exchanges. There are all kinds of talk, too - hearsay, gossip, psychobabble, quotation; talk that isn't quite right (talking animals, demonic possession); talk that's great art (perhaps Chekhov is just the very best talk there is). Talk, Talk, Talk is a delightful collection of essays by some of the best thinkers - and talkers - of our time. These stellar contributors looks at talk from an exhilarating range of perspectives, among them speech and political power, the Marx Brothers' idea of conversation, the idea of "talkative" ethnic identities, Lenny Bruce, daily self-affirmations, technologized talk, the telephone, the talking cure, and e-mail.