Social Satire

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.

Walt Kelly (1913-1973) is one of the most respected and innovative American cartoonists of the twentieth century. His long-running Pogo newspaper strip has been cited by modern comics artists and scholars as one of the best ever. Cartoonists Bill Watterson ( Calvin and Hobbes), Jeff Smith ( Bone), and Frank Cho ( Liberty Meadows) have all cited Kelly as a major influence on their work. We Go Pogo is the first comprehensive study of Kelly's cartoon art and his larger career in the comics business.

The Mueller Report is 2018’s most anticipated release that doesn’t involve Chris Pratt punching a dinosaur, and for good reason: The entire country is waiting to see what former FBI director and current special counsel Robert Mueller has dug up on former mail-order steak salesman and current US president Donald J. Trump. That wait is over - sort of - with the publication of The Mueller Report by Jason O. Gilbert.

In Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, acclaimed satirist Alexandra Petri offers perfectly logical, reassuring reasons for everything that has happened in recent American politics that will in no way unsettle your worldview. In essays both new and adapted from her viral Washington Post columns, Petri reports that the Trump administration is as competent as it is uncorrupted, white supremacy has never been less rampant, and men have been silenced for too long. The "woman card" is a powerful card to play! Q-Anon makes perfect sense!

Since 1968, Garry Trudeau (b. 1948) has brought his brand of political satire to bear on public figures, movie stars, heads of state, and even on himself. Trudeau has also advocated for artists' rights and challenged industry norms while keeping a decidedly low profile. In Garry Trudeau: Doonesbury and the Aesthetics of Satire, Kerry D. Soper traces the contribution of this groundbreaking artist. Trudeau is arguably the premier American political and social satirist of the last forty years. Amazingly, he achieved this on the comics page, rather than the editorial page.

National radio talk show host Mike Gallagher provides a careful study into the psyche of the liberal mind, using humor and irony to both entertain and instruct. A recent Gallup/ USA Today Poll (not exactly Fox News Channel) revealed that 42 percent of Americans called themselves conservative, 35 percent moderate, while only 20 percent used the "L" word to describe themselves. Mike Gallagher uses his trademark humor to take the listener inside the life and mind of the American liberal, coming up with 50 definitive things liberals just love to hate.

Professor Soren Pafko has made a life and career out of lying, conniving, manipulating, and abusing everyone in his path. So far, it’s working great: he’s Chair of his College’s Department of Comparative Literature; he’s leader of the local chapter of the Democratic Communists of America; and when he wants to cheat on his wife, he’s got his pick of women who think he’s the second coming of Che Guevara. But when he flunks local yokel Gus Dropo’s teenage son for a politically incorrect classroom comment, everything in Professor Pafko’s world begins to go hilariously wrong.

Während seiner einjährigen Haftzeit hat Deniz Yücel - in mühsamer Kommunikation über seine Anwälte und kuratiert von der Journalistin Doris Akrap - eine Auswahl aus seinen Texten aus den vergangenen 13 Jahren zu einem ebenso klugen wie unterhaltsamen und in jeder Hinsicht abwechslungsreichen Hörbuch zusammengestellt: Reportagen, Satiren, Polemiken, Kommentare, Glossen und andere "Gebrauchstexte aus dem Handgemenge". Dazu kommen zwei Stücke, die er im Hochsicherheitsgefängnis Silivri Nr. 9 hierfür verfasst hat, sowie ein Beitrag seiner Frau, der Fernsehproduzentin und Lyrikerin Dilek Mayatürk Yücel.

Within these pages are the musings, the revelations, the ruminations, and the reflections of the incomparable Larry Wilmore. Here, collected for the first time, all in one place, are his Black Thoughts. From why black weathermen make him feel happy (or sad) and why brothas don't see UFOs to his search for Black Jesus or his quest to replace "African-American" with "chocolate," Wilmore has finally relented, agreeing to share his unique (black) perspective.

Shepherd Mead's hilarious and timely Male Manifesto takes a fresh look at the issues and perils of the coming sexual war and exhorts his comrades-in-arms to rally 'round this book, boys, in one of the most delightfully chauvinistic satires to come along in years.

Paul Krassner's style of personal journalism constantly blurs the line between observer and participant. Nowhere is this more apparent than this collection of essays and interviews culled from his columns at AVN Online. Krassner shines his keen satirical mind on the so-called taboos of today's society and breaks them down to show the hypocrisy of the world's "culture warriors". With a biting wit and tongue firmly planted in cheek, Mr. Krassner reveals the absurdity of our oppressive social mores....

Bill O’Reilly is one of the most recognized and talked-about journalists of our time. With an unparalleled track record as an author and with the number-one-rated Fox News show The O’Reilly Factor, O’Reilly has become a veritable institution of political insight and keen advice. In Keep It Pithy, O’Reilly offers a classic collection of the most memorable writings from his best-selling books, and looks back at how his opinions and ideas have been proven right or wrong by the passage of time.

Bougies are the new name for the hip middle class. Bougies Rule! is a satirical look at this group of people who dress up their dogs, speak endlessly of exotic vacation destinations and pepper their conversation with expressions like, "nuance," "feng shui," and "serious cinema."

Why are they targeting the disadvantaged? Why are the rich not taxed fairly? Why does everyone feel so powerless to make change for the better? Why is the anger of so many not being addressed? Why do the rich keep getting richer, while the poor are kept poor? Why is austerity becoming worse while the government laugh their heads off and give themselves huge pay raises and take so much? Why are they not paying for the austerity measures that they instigated and perpetuate?

This book is important, and not just because it's about Donald Trump. It is essential listening for anyone who wants to discover the official Trump Brand Origin Story, to learn his positions on vital issues like the military - "Are These the Biggest Missiles We Have?," science - "If Einstein Was So Smart, Why Wasn't He Rich?" and good government - "Of the Good People, By the Good People, and For the Good People."

What if politicians cared about the country? What if people stopped being insane? What if the government earned its money instead of stealing it? The state-laid plans gang aft agley, and only ending taxes, setting term limits, the line-item veto, sunset legislation, and honest elections can amend 'em. What we need now is a good laugh, quotable economists, and missionaries for reality. Who's in?

Here's an irreverent and hilarious reference guide to all the people, ideas, and institutions that pollute our lives. Because you don't have to be old to be grumpy. Read by the stars of Channel 4's Green Wing.

Robo calls, ads for male enhancement, and an inbox filled with impossible amounts of spam. Technology may advance, but human beings are still made of the same stuff they've always been made of. So install your anti-virus software, delete your social media accounts, and strap yourself in for a bumpy ride as the author of Fair is a Place Where They Sell Cotton Candy dissects getting older in a modern world.

In this outrageous collection of fake letters to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, we’re offered a startling inside look at what’s on the minds of Americans today. From celebrities as diverse as Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton, and Steven Spielberg, to anonymous everyday citizens like the minimum-wage waitress in Oklahoma and a dry cleaner named Al Kayda in Wisconsin, Obama hears it, and gets it, from everyone.

The Watergate Rhymes aims to educate, reflect, and learn from that consumptive scandal, while using satire to see the humor in the human frailties of that maligned administration - and in ourselves, all with the perspective and understanding that only precious time enables.