Social Satire

The Believer magazine presents a compendium of advice from producers, writers, and actors of The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation, Late Show with David Letterman, The Hangover, and The Colbert Report, along with other musicians, cartoonists, New Yorker writers, and those similarly unqualified to offer guidance.

After 40 years of making a living using words in every medium, print or electronic, Roy Blount Jr. still can't get over his ABCs. In Alphabet Juice, he celebrates the juju, the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations. Blount does not prescribe proper English. The franchise he claims is "over the counter" and concentrates more on questions such as these: Did you know that both mammal and matter derive from baby talk? Have you noticed how wince makes you wince?

Be(com)ing Nigerian: A Guide is a satirical collection that takes a searing look at how different forms of power are abused, negotiated, and performed both in the private and public realm. Through attempting to satirise those who abuse privilege or power, it recognises that power can be found everywhere: in politics, business, religious institutions, and in homes. From the exploration of religious hypocrisy in How to Worship the Nigerian God, to A Letter to My Future Kidnapper, the collection is a jab at Nigerian society and what it means to be a Nigerian.

From short, fat, bald John Adams' wig-throwing tantrums during the 1800 election to Abraham Lincoln's decision to grow a beard in 1860; from John F. Kennedy's choice to forgo the fedora at his inauguration to John Kerry's decision to get Botoxed for the 2004 race; from the Golden Age of Facial Hair (1860-1912) to the Age of the Banker (1912-1960); from Washington's false teeth to George W. Bush's workout regimen, Project President tells the story of America's love affair with presidential looks and appearance.

From the elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump to the tragic events of Ferguson and Charlottesville, the subject of race has come to the forefront of American consciousness. Legendary satirist D. L. Hughley offers his own cutting observations on this contentious issue that continues to traumatize the nation, a wound made more painful by the ongoing comments and actions of the 45th president. Hughley uses humor to draw attention to injustice, sardonically offering advice on a number of lessons, like "How to make cops feel more comfortable while they're handcuffing you".

This is the story of Corey Fah, a writer who has hit the literary jackpot: their novel has just won the prize for the Fictionalization of Social Evils. But the actual trophy, and with it the funds, hovers peskily out of reach. Neon-beige, with UFO-like qualities, the elusive trophy leads Corey, with their partner Drew and eight-legged companion Bambi Pavok, on a spectacular quest through their childhood in the Forest and an unlikely stint on reality TV. Navigating those twin horrors, along with wormholes and time loops, Corey learns—the hard way—the difference between a prize and a gift.

The vast right wing conspiracy has found its General Patton, and his name is David Kahane. Kahane's pseudonymous, satiric column for National Review Online, lampooning the Left via his Hollywood-radical persona - Stephen Colbert's liberal doppelganger - is must-listening for political aficionados of all stripes. Now, from the inside, Kahane proudly exposes the secret and not-so-secret winning strategies (and vulnerabilities) of the Left.

Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered in October 1974, mere weeks after the resignation and pardon of Richard Nixon brought an uncertain end to the most corrupt and criminal presidency in American history. The film had been conceived, written, shot, edited, and produced precisely as Watergate was playing out, and those responsible for Chain Saw unhesitatingly spoke of the horrors of contemporary politics as having directly inspired the ones they created for the film.

To satisfy a public that longs for a savior, Vidal’s eponymous hero of Kalki, born and bred in America’s Midwest, establishes himself in Nepal, puts out the word that he is the last incarnation of the god Vishnu, and predicts an imminent apocalypse meant to cleanse the planet.

With their fearless crime-fighting, good manners, and manly fashion sense, the Hardly boys are the pride of Feyport, Illinois. In A Ghost in the Closet, dark-haired, muscular Frank and his lovable kid brother, Joe, return from a gay trip to Europe to find that their parents - world-famous detective Fennel P. Hardly and his wife, Mrs. Hardly - have been kidnapped! Even worse, so have six poodles from the Lake Merrimen Dog Show! Pals Nancy Clue, Cherry Aimless, R.N., and Police Detective Jackie Jones help the Hardly boys track down the criminals.

Years before they made headlines with the Ghostbusters, Erin Gilbert and Abby L. Yates published the groundbreaking study of the paranormal, Ghosts from Our Past. Once lost to history, this criminally underappreciated book is now back in print, revised and somewhat updated for the new century. According to Gilbert and Yates, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", and whether you're a believer or a skeptic, you'll find the information you're seeking right here in this extraordinary book.

Following the success of New York Times best sellers Dumpty and Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown, award-winning actor, author, and illustrator John Lithgow presents the third book in his runaway hit series. A Confederacy of Dumptys takes us through a history of 25 "American Scoundrels" in this all-new collection of Lithgow's satirical poems. While the Trump Era was rife with corruption and abuse of power, it was nothing new. Through Lithgow's cutting humor, you will hear about a rogues' gallery of villains that came before Donald J. Trump.

In an opulent honeymoon suite in Watch Hill, Rhode Island’s most desirable wedding venue, 29-year-old Callie Holt is spending her wedding night lying in a bathtub shoveling down a pizza; her expensive white dress now splattered with sauce and her groom passed out in the next room. With her seven-hour-old marriage already imploded, Callie turns to the place of record–her phone–sifting through the photographic evidence of the past year to pinpoint where it all went wrong.

This book is dedicated to the many opponents who would like to see Trump defeated and the end to his presidential campaign. They feel Trump's campaign has been based on insults, humiliation, and inciting his followers to violence. He has been called a bigot and racist and compared to Hitler. Some have considered him a dangerous evil monster. In the past, many dangerous and scary beasts have gone extinct, so this book has been created in this spirit of comparing Trump to many now extinct beasts.

Northanger Abbey, a satire of Gothic melodrama, is one of Jane Austen's most popular works. When Catherine Morland is launched into the politics and pitfalls of the Bath social season, she behaves with the cheerful open-mindedness of one of Jane Austen's most eligible classic heroines.

“Creemos que somos únicos e irrepetibles. Nos han vendido la idea (y sin dudarlo la hemos comprado) de que nadie es como nosotros. Pero la realidad es que nos parecemos tanto a los demás que no nos damos cuenta. Crecemos con la necesidad de sentirnos integrados a nuestra comunidad y nos hacemos dependientes de las masas. Hacemos lo que hacen los demás, queremos ser como la gente que admiramos. Somos todo lo que vemos, escuchamos, leemos, comemos, bebemos, compramos, amamos y odiamos. Vivimos con el instinto gregario a flor de piel”.

Das Europaparlament – eine hervorragende Idee. Nur in der Realität leider ein Witz, und noch dazu ein sehr schlechter. Nico Semsrott berichtet ehrlich und komisch von seinen Erfahrungen aus fünf Jahren Europaparlament. Von der sinnlosen Pendelei zwischen Brüssel und Straßburg, in der schon alles steckt, was das Parlament im Kern ausmacht: Steuerverschwendung, Tragik und grober Unfug. Von gierigen Parlamentariern, die keines ihrer unsinnigen Privilegien ungenutzt lassen und sich ständig in die eigene Tasche wirtschaften.

Inzwischen ist Martin Sonneborn nicht mehr so naiv: Als er 2019 zum zweiten Mal ins Europaparlament gewählt wird, weiß er bereits, wie in der EU Politik gemacht wird – und kennt alle Tricks. Das ist auch gut so, denn in seiner zweiten Amtszeit geht es in Europa um alles. (Fast).

More than just a 724 point list, this book is part philosophy, part poetry and part standup comedy routine. It will change the way you write, change the way you think, and ultimately change the way you live. Winners and Losers is a thought provoking and sometimes controversial examination of the human character. Every page is guaranteed to provoke discussion, dissonance and laughter.

The dazzling, inimitable Molly Ivins is back with a new collection of withering and hilarious pieces on the worst politics has to offer. This audiobook features a rogue's gallery of politicians: everyone from George W. Bush and the Democratic presidential contenders to Arnold Schwarzenegger. This career retrospective contains Ivins's funniest, most outrageous (and outraged) work on "the best of the worst", in a volume sure to delight those on the left and infuriate the right.