"The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why"

In recent news, there is probably not a single word in the English language that draws as much debate, argument, disagreement, and controversy as the word 'nigger'. Six little letters put together into a word that can enrage, engender hatred, and bring about discussion of things much bigger than just those six letters.

It is likely that no other word in the history of mankind, including expletives and vulgarity, will ever have quite the stigma attached to it as 'The N Word.' In fact, there's been so much debate recently about the word that Houghton Mifflin, one of the country's most prominent publishers, has recently published a book by Jabari Asim called, "The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why".

Published in March of 2007, the book is quickly becoming one of the most talked about books on the market, especially in the black community.

The book's author, Jabari Asim, is a black man, who has written on various African American topics in the past, before he decided to tackle the question of who should or shouldn't use the 'N' word.

This is not the first time Jabari Asim has tackled the use of certain words he considers derogatory, especially words he considers derogatory to blacks. As a columnist for the Washington Post, Asim has also tackled the use of the word 'pimp', and in many of his writings on Truthdigg and other internet sites, Asim tackles the use of word slurs (as well as racial slurs) on a regular basis, but only the word 'nigger' stirs up enough interest to make it an entire book.

The book looks at a lot more than just the 400 year etymological history of the word, and actually delves into the history of racism and how the N word was used, and how the use of the word has evolved. Asim traces back who has used the word in the past, and then moves forward to who should use it now, including a detailed commentary on rap and hip hop artists, both black and Caucasian, using the N word in their lyrics.

In a review from Publishers Weekly, they had this to say about the book, "Midway through ...[sic] readers may conclude it should not be uttered by anyone, anymore, for any reason."