The pen is truly mightier than the sword in this collection of more than a hundred digs, jabs, and outright put-downs from the world's most respected writers, about--each other Vicious Nonsense reveals the acerbic side of beloved authors who became brutal critics when writing about their fellow wordsmiths. James Baldwin writes on Langston Hughes, "Every time I read Langston Hughes I am amazed all over again by his genuine gifts--and depressed that he has done so little with them..." Dorothy Parker spares no love for Gertrude Stein: "To quote the only line of Gertrude Stein's which I have ever been able to understand, 'It is wonderful how I am not interested.'" Curated from letters, essays, and reviews, this sometimes stinging, sometimes good-natured, and always delightful collection will ignite the armchair critic in us all.