Author: Gerry Walker
Publisher: Sfe Publishing
ISBN: 9780578051826
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
"Fantastically twisted, deliciously get-down dirty, gritty and real, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is seductively addictive and simply amazing. I loved every breathing moment of it and am officially a Gerry Walker fan for life " - Delilah Marvelle, author of 'Prelude To A Scandal' & 'Once Upon A Scandal', HQN Books Xavier, Charmaine, Emil, Karianna, and Andy are childhood friends groomed to become young, successful high-powered professionals. But on the road to the lush life, their secret addictions, unscrupulous decisions, backdoor trysts, and unhealed wounds threaten to destroy the loving, trusting bond they once built. When a Valentine's Day reunion thrusts their innermost demons into the light, a devastating avalanche of events is unleashed, leaving one of them dead. Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is a raw, heartfelt romantic comedy thriller with erotic undertones. It's like E. Lynn Harris on speed. The first installment of the ''Pretty People" Dirt Opera trilogy, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable introduces the characters, unveiling their quirks, strengths, weaknesses, and hopes. We learn how they met, as well as what forces have begun to tear them apart. The rug is pulled from beneath them one by one, forcing them to face the aftermath of their behaviors and choices. Will they completely unhinge as a result? Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is a multicultural, inter-sexual romp for adults. It tackles adultery, incest, rape, drug abuse, cancer, AIDS and more head-on. Steaming with sex, scandal, rollercoaster twists, and a bit of dark humor to boot, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable will take you directly to the edge, then drop you right into the mouth of its sequel, PRETTY PEOPLE MAKE GREAT PROJECTILES, coming in 2016. www.GerryWalker.net @gerrywalker on Twitter
Pretty People Are Highly Flammable
Author: Gerry Walker
Publisher: Sfe Publishing
ISBN: 9780578051826
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
"Fantastically twisted, deliciously get-down dirty, gritty and real, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is seductively addictive and simply amazing. I loved every breathing moment of it and am officially a Gerry Walker fan for life " - Delilah Marvelle, author of 'Prelude To A Scandal' & 'Once Upon A Scandal', HQN Books Xavier, Charmaine, Emil, Karianna, and Andy are childhood friends groomed to become young, successful high-powered professionals. But on the road to the lush life, their secret addictions, unscrupulous decisions, backdoor trysts, and unhealed wounds threaten to destroy the loving, trusting bond they once built. When a Valentine's Day reunion thrusts their innermost demons into the light, a devastating avalanche of events is unleashed, leaving one of them dead. Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is a raw, heartfelt romantic comedy thriller with erotic undertones. It's like E. Lynn Harris on speed. The first installment of the ''Pretty People" Dirt Opera trilogy, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable introduces the characters, unveiling their quirks, strengths, weaknesses, and hopes. We learn how they met, as well as what forces have begun to tear them apart. The rug is pulled from beneath them one by one, forcing them to face the aftermath of their behaviors and choices. Will they completely unhinge as a result? Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is a multicultural, inter-sexual romp for adults. It tackles adultery, incest, rape, drug abuse, cancer, AIDS and more head-on. Steaming with sex, scandal, rollercoaster twists, and a bit of dark humor to boot, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable will take you directly to the edge, then drop you right into the mouth of its sequel, PRETTY PEOPLE MAKE GREAT PROJECTILES, coming in 2016. www.GerryWalker.net @gerrywalker on Twitter
Publisher: Sfe Publishing
ISBN: 9780578051826
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
"Fantastically twisted, deliciously get-down dirty, gritty and real, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is seductively addictive and simply amazing. I loved every breathing moment of it and am officially a Gerry Walker fan for life " - Delilah Marvelle, author of 'Prelude To A Scandal' & 'Once Upon A Scandal', HQN Books Xavier, Charmaine, Emil, Karianna, and Andy are childhood friends groomed to become young, successful high-powered professionals. But on the road to the lush life, their secret addictions, unscrupulous decisions, backdoor trysts, and unhealed wounds threaten to destroy the loving, trusting bond they once built. When a Valentine's Day reunion thrusts their innermost demons into the light, a devastating avalanche of events is unleashed, leaving one of them dead. Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is a raw, heartfelt romantic comedy thriller with erotic undertones. It's like E. Lynn Harris on speed. The first installment of the ''Pretty People" Dirt Opera trilogy, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable introduces the characters, unveiling their quirks, strengths, weaknesses, and hopes. We learn how they met, as well as what forces have begun to tear them apart. The rug is pulled from beneath them one by one, forcing them to face the aftermath of their behaviors and choices. Will they completely unhinge as a result? Pretty People Are Highly Flammable is a multicultural, inter-sexual romp for adults. It tackles adultery, incest, rape, drug abuse, cancer, AIDS and more head-on. Steaming with sex, scandal, rollercoaster twists, and a bit of dark humor to boot, Pretty People Are Highly Flammable will take you directly to the edge, then drop you right into the mouth of its sequel, PRETTY PEOPLE MAKE GREAT PROJECTILES, coming in 2016. www.GerryWalker.net @gerrywalker on Twitter
Restore Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062676385
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 310
Book Description
An instant New York Times bestseller! Juliette and Warner’s story continues in the electrifying fourth installment of Tahereh Mafi’s bestselling Shatter Me series. The girl with the power to kill with a single touch now has the world in the palm of her hand. Juliette Ferrars thought she’d won. She took over Sector 45, was named the new Supreme Commander of North America, and now has Warner by her side. But when tragedy strikes, she must confront the darkness that dwells both around and inside her. Who will she become in the face of adversity? Will she be able to control the power she wields, and use it for good? This bestselling series from powerhouse author Tahereh Mafi showcases relentlessly thrilling action, heart stopping romance, and a war-torn world in which rebellion is the only path to freedom. “Will have fans groaning aloud for the next installment.”—Booklist
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062676385
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 310
Book Description
An instant New York Times bestseller! Juliette and Warner’s story continues in the electrifying fourth installment of Tahereh Mafi’s bestselling Shatter Me series. The girl with the power to kill with a single touch now has the world in the palm of her hand. Juliette Ferrars thought she’d won. She took over Sector 45, was named the new Supreme Commander of North America, and now has Warner by her side. But when tragedy strikes, she must confront the darkness that dwells both around and inside her. Who will she become in the face of adversity? Will she be able to control the power she wields, and use it for good? This bestselling series from powerhouse author Tahereh Mafi showcases relentlessly thrilling action, heart stopping romance, and a war-torn world in which rebellion is the only path to freedom. “Will have fans groaning aloud for the next installment.”—Booklist
Flammable
Author: Javier Auyero
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199706689
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201
Book Description
Surrounded by one of the largest petrochemical compounds in Argentina, a highly polluted river that brings the toxic waste of tanneries and other industries, a hazardous and largely unsupervised waste incinerator, and an unmonitored landfill, Flammable's soil, air, and water are contaminated with lead, chromium, benzene, and other chemicals. So are its nearly five thousand sickened and frail inhabitants. How do poor people make sense of and cope with toxic pollution? Why do they fail to understand what is objectively a clear and present danger? How are perceptions and misperceptions shared within a community? Based on archival research and two and a half years of collaborative ethnographic fieldwork in Flammable, this book examines the lived experiences of environmental suffering. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, residents allow themselves to doubt or even deny the hard facts of industrial pollution. This happens, the authors argue, through a "labor of confusion" enabled by state officials who frequently raise the issue of relocation and just as frequently suspend it; by the companies who fund local health care but assert that the area is unfit for human residence; by doctors who say the illnesses are no different from anywhere else but tell mothers they must leave the neighborhood if their families are to be cured; by journalists who randomly appear and focus on the most extreme aspects of life there; and by lawyers who encourage residents to hold out for a settlement. These contradictory actions, advice, and information work together to shape the confused experience of living in danger and ultimately translates into a long, ineffective, and uncertain waiting time, a time dictated by powerful interests and shared by all marginalized groups. With luminous and vivid descriptions of everyday life in the neighborhood, Auyero and Swistun depict this on-going slow motion human and environmental disaster and dissect the manifold ways in which it is experienced by Flammable residents.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199706689
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201
Book Description
Surrounded by one of the largest petrochemical compounds in Argentina, a highly polluted river that brings the toxic waste of tanneries and other industries, a hazardous and largely unsupervised waste incinerator, and an unmonitored landfill, Flammable's soil, air, and water are contaminated with lead, chromium, benzene, and other chemicals. So are its nearly five thousand sickened and frail inhabitants. How do poor people make sense of and cope with toxic pollution? Why do they fail to understand what is objectively a clear and present danger? How are perceptions and misperceptions shared within a community? Based on archival research and two and a half years of collaborative ethnographic fieldwork in Flammable, this book examines the lived experiences of environmental suffering. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, residents allow themselves to doubt or even deny the hard facts of industrial pollution. This happens, the authors argue, through a "labor of confusion" enabled by state officials who frequently raise the issue of relocation and just as frequently suspend it; by the companies who fund local health care but assert that the area is unfit for human residence; by doctors who say the illnesses are no different from anywhere else but tell mothers they must leave the neighborhood if their families are to be cured; by journalists who randomly appear and focus on the most extreme aspects of life there; and by lawyers who encourage residents to hold out for a settlement. These contradictory actions, advice, and information work together to shape the confused experience of living in danger and ultimately translates into a long, ineffective, and uncertain waiting time, a time dictated by powerful interests and shared by all marginalized groups. With luminous and vivid descriptions of everyday life in the neighborhood, Auyero and Swistun depict this on-going slow motion human and environmental disaster and dissect the manifold ways in which it is experienced by Flammable residents.
Nothing to See Here
Author: Kevin Wilson
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062913484
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
A New York Times Bestseller • A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, TIME, The A.V. Club, Buzzfeed, and PopSugar “I can’t believe how good this book is.... It’s wholly original. It’s also perfect.... Wilson writes with such a light touch.... The brilliance of the novel [is] that it distracts you with these weirdo characters and mesmerizing and funny sentences and then hits you in a way you didn’t see coming. You’re laughing so hard you don’t even realize that you’ve suddenly caught fire.” —Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Fleishman is in Trouble, New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of The Family Fang, a moving and uproarious novel about a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with a remarkable ability. Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But then Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help. Madison’s twin stepkids are moving in with her family and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way. Lillian is convinced Madison is pulling her leg, but it’s the truth. Thinking of her dead-end life at home, the life that has consistently disappointed her, Lillian figures she has nothing to lose. Over the course of one humid, demanding summer, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—while also staying out of the way of Madison’s buttoned-up politician husband. Surprised by her own ingenuity yet unused to the intense feelings of protectiveness she feels for them, Lillian ultimately begins to accept that she needs these strange children as much as they need her—urgently and fiercely. Couldn’t this be the start of the amazing life she’d always hoped for? With white-hot wit and a big, tender heart, Kevin Wilson has written his best book yet—a most unusual story of parental love.
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062913484
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
A New York Times Bestseller • A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, TIME, The A.V. Club, Buzzfeed, and PopSugar “I can’t believe how good this book is.... It’s wholly original. It’s also perfect.... Wilson writes with such a light touch.... The brilliance of the novel [is] that it distracts you with these weirdo characters and mesmerizing and funny sentences and then hits you in a way you didn’t see coming. You’re laughing so hard you don’t even realize that you’ve suddenly caught fire.” —Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Fleishman is in Trouble, New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of The Family Fang, a moving and uproarious novel about a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with a remarkable ability. Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But then Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help. Madison’s twin stepkids are moving in with her family and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way. Lillian is convinced Madison is pulling her leg, but it’s the truth. Thinking of her dead-end life at home, the life that has consistently disappointed her, Lillian figures she has nothing to lose. Over the course of one humid, demanding summer, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—while also staying out of the way of Madison’s buttoned-up politician husband. Surprised by her own ingenuity yet unused to the intense feelings of protectiveness she feels for them, Lillian ultimately begins to accept that she needs these strange children as much as they need her—urgently and fiercely. Couldn’t this be the start of the amazing life she’d always hoped for? With white-hot wit and a big, tender heart, Kevin Wilson has written his best book yet—a most unusual story of parental love.
Butterface (A Hot Romantic Comedy)
Author: Avery Flynn
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
ISBN: 1640635815
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
It’s true. I’m not what most people would call “pretty” and, well, high school was rough. Fast forward ten years and life is good... Until a bunch of jerks think it’s hilarious to put the “butterface” (AKA me) on a wedding Kiss Cam with the hottest guy ever—and that old humiliation hits hard. I recognize him immediately. The sexiest cop in Waterbury and totally out of my league. But then he kisses me. And we totally forget the room, the crowd, everything. Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months. Soon everything starts to feel too real, from adorable fights over “necessary” tools to fix my broken porch to surviving a free-for-all dinner with his six siblings to picking up where our last kiss left off. But there’s something he’s not telling me about why he’s really hanging around, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with my mob-connected brothers. Because this is not a make-over story, and Cinderella is only a fairy tale... Each book in the Hartigans series is STANDALONE: * Butterface * Muffin Top * Tomboy
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
ISBN: 1640635815
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Book Description
It’s true. I’m not what most people would call “pretty” and, well, high school was rough. Fast forward ten years and life is good... Until a bunch of jerks think it’s hilarious to put the “butterface” (AKA me) on a wedding Kiss Cam with the hottest guy ever—and that old humiliation hits hard. I recognize him immediately. The sexiest cop in Waterbury and totally out of my league. But then he kisses me. And we totally forget the room, the crowd, everything. Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months. Soon everything starts to feel too real, from adorable fights over “necessary” tools to fix my broken porch to surviving a free-for-all dinner with his six siblings to picking up where our last kiss left off. But there’s something he’s not telling me about why he’s really hanging around, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with my mob-connected brothers. Because this is not a make-over story, and Cinderella is only a fairy tale... Each book in the Hartigans series is STANDALONE: * Butterface * Muffin Top * Tomboy
People & Fire
Author: Gage-Babcock & Associates
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Apartment houses
Languages : en
Pages : 32
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Apartment houses
Languages : en
Pages : 32
Book Description
The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual of Children and Young People's Nursing Practices
Author: Elizabeth Anne Bruce
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118898222
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 839
Book Description
The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual of Children and Young People’s Nursing Practices Clinical skills are essential in the provision of care for children and young people. The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual of Children and Young People’s Nursing Practices provides expert guidance on evidence-based clinical procedures, helping students and newly registered nurses develop sound clinical judgement and confidence. This comprehensive resource covers all aspects of children’s nursing, from the fundamentals of everyday practice to advanced care in high dependency and intensive care settings. As such, its relevance and usefulness reach beyond those newly registered; it remains a valuable resource for experienced nurses wishing to further expand their nursing skills. Now in its second edition, this thoroughly updated guide demonstrates each procedure, explains the underlying theory and evidence, and speaks to the unique challenges of working with children and young people. New chapters address mental health, complementary therapies, learning difficulties, and the deteriorating child, whilst expanded content examines blood glucose monitoring, glucocorticoid treatment, insulin administration, diabetes care, surgical diathermy, non-invasive ventilation, and much more. Key Features Provides evidence-based guidelines for more than 300 clinical procedures Features an abundance of colour photographs and illustrations Examines the needs of neonates and adolescents in the context of interdisciplinary care Includes new material on health research and evidence-based practice, stages of development, children with complex needs, and admission, transfer, and discharge Complements The Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures, offering continuity to those working in both adult and paediatric settings The second edition of The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual is an indispensable resource for registered nurses, students, and other healthcare professionals involved in delivering clinically effective, evidenced- based, family-centred care. Praise for the previous edition “This manual builds on the knowledge, skills and expertise of one of the UK’s finest children’s hospital and explains comprehensive, evidence-based care clearly.” Nursing Children and Young People Journal “All children’s nurses should have this book as a reference.” Nursing Standard “… a comprehensive resource for all qualified nurses, students and other healthcare professionals involved in caring for children in hospital and community settings.” Times Higher Education Supplement
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118898222
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 839
Book Description
The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual of Children and Young People’s Nursing Practices Clinical skills are essential in the provision of care for children and young people. The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual of Children and Young People’s Nursing Practices provides expert guidance on evidence-based clinical procedures, helping students and newly registered nurses develop sound clinical judgement and confidence. This comprehensive resource covers all aspects of children’s nursing, from the fundamentals of everyday practice to advanced care in high dependency and intensive care settings. As such, its relevance and usefulness reach beyond those newly registered; it remains a valuable resource for experienced nurses wishing to further expand their nursing skills. Now in its second edition, this thoroughly updated guide demonstrates each procedure, explains the underlying theory and evidence, and speaks to the unique challenges of working with children and young people. New chapters address mental health, complementary therapies, learning difficulties, and the deteriorating child, whilst expanded content examines blood glucose monitoring, glucocorticoid treatment, insulin administration, diabetes care, surgical diathermy, non-invasive ventilation, and much more. Key Features Provides evidence-based guidelines for more than 300 clinical procedures Features an abundance of colour photographs and illustrations Examines the needs of neonates and adolescents in the context of interdisciplinary care Includes new material on health research and evidence-based practice, stages of development, children with complex needs, and admission, transfer, and discharge Complements The Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures, offering continuity to those working in both adult and paediatric settings The second edition of The Great Ormond Street Hospital Manual is an indispensable resource for registered nurses, students, and other healthcare professionals involved in delivering clinically effective, evidenced- based, family-centred care. Praise for the previous edition “This manual builds on the knowledge, skills and expertise of one of the UK’s finest children’s hospital and explains comprehensive, evidence-based care clearly.” Nursing Children and Young People Journal “All children’s nurses should have this book as a reference.” Nursing Standard “… a comprehensive resource for all qualified nurses, students and other healthcare professionals involved in caring for children in hospital and community settings.” Times Higher Education Supplement
Chemical Security Act, S. 1602
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, Risk, and Waste Management
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 184
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 184
Book Description
Amendment to Flammable Fabrics Act; Exemption of Fabrics Not Highly Flammable
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flammable fabrics
Languages : en
Pages : 48
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flammable fabrics
Languages : en
Pages : 48
Book Description
Me the People
Author: Kevin Bleyer
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812981685
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
The United States Constitution promised a More Perfect Union. It’s a shame no one bothered to write a more perfect Constitution—one that didn’t trigger more than two centuries of arguments about what the darn thing actually says. Until now. Perfection is at hand. A new, improved Constitution is here. And you are holding it. But first, some historical context: In the eighteenth century, a lawyer named James Madison gathered his friends in Philadelphia and, over four long months, wrote four short pages: the Constitution of the United States of America. Not bad. In the nineteenth century, a president named Abraham Lincoln freed an entire people from the flaws in that Constitution by signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Pretty impressive. And in the twentieth century, a doctor at the Bethesda Naval Hospital delivered a baby—but not just any baby. Because in the twenty-first century, that baby would become a man, that man would become a patriot, and that patriot would rescue a country . . . by single-handedly rewriting that Constitution. Why? We think of our Constitution as the painstakingly designed blueprint drawn up by, in Thomas Jefferson’s words, an “assembly of demigods” who laid the foundation for the sturdiest republic ever created. The truth is, it was no blueprint at all but an Etch A Sketch, a haphazard series of blunders, shaken clean and redrawn countless times during a summer of petty debates, drunken ramblings, and desperate compromise—as much the product of an “assembly of demigods” as a confederacy of dunces. No wonder George Washington wished it “had been made more perfect.” No wonder Benjamin Franklin stomached it only “with all its faults.” The Constitution they wrote is a hot mess. For starters, it doesn’t mention slavery, or democracy, or even Facebook; it plays favorites among the states; it has typos, smudges, and misspellings; and its Preamble, its most famous passage, was written by a man with a peg leg. Which, if you think about it, gives our Constitution hardly a leg to stand on. [Pause for laughter.] Now stop laughing. Because you hold in your hands no mere book, but the most important document of our time. Its creator, Daily Show writer Kevin Bleyer, paid every price, bore every burden, and saved every receipt in his quest to assure the salvation of our nation’s founding charter. He flew to Greece, the birthplace of democracy. He bused to Philly, the home of independence. He went toe-to-toe (face-to-face) with Scalia. He added nightly confabs with James Madison to his daily consultations with Jon Stewart. He tracked down not one but two John Hancocks—to make his version twice as official. He even read the Constitution of the United States. So prepare yourselves, fellow patriots, for the most significant literary event of the twenty-first, twentieth, nineteenth, and latter part of the eighteenth centuries. Me the People won’t just form a More Perfect Union. It will save America. Praise for Me the People “I would rather read a constitution written by Kevin Bleyer than by the sharpest minds in the country.”—Jon Stewart “Bleyer takes a red pencil to democracy’s most hallowed laundry list. . . . Uproarious and fascinating.”—Reader’s Digest “I knew James Madison. James Madison was a friend of mine. Mr. Bleyer, you are no James Madison. But you sure are a heck of a lot more fun.”—Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Team of Rivals
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812981685
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
The United States Constitution promised a More Perfect Union. It’s a shame no one bothered to write a more perfect Constitution—one that didn’t trigger more than two centuries of arguments about what the darn thing actually says. Until now. Perfection is at hand. A new, improved Constitution is here. And you are holding it. But first, some historical context: In the eighteenth century, a lawyer named James Madison gathered his friends in Philadelphia and, over four long months, wrote four short pages: the Constitution of the United States of America. Not bad. In the nineteenth century, a president named Abraham Lincoln freed an entire people from the flaws in that Constitution by signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Pretty impressive. And in the twentieth century, a doctor at the Bethesda Naval Hospital delivered a baby—but not just any baby. Because in the twenty-first century, that baby would become a man, that man would become a patriot, and that patriot would rescue a country . . . by single-handedly rewriting that Constitution. Why? We think of our Constitution as the painstakingly designed blueprint drawn up by, in Thomas Jefferson’s words, an “assembly of demigods” who laid the foundation for the sturdiest republic ever created. The truth is, it was no blueprint at all but an Etch A Sketch, a haphazard series of blunders, shaken clean and redrawn countless times during a summer of petty debates, drunken ramblings, and desperate compromise—as much the product of an “assembly of demigods” as a confederacy of dunces. No wonder George Washington wished it “had been made more perfect.” No wonder Benjamin Franklin stomached it only “with all its faults.” The Constitution they wrote is a hot mess. For starters, it doesn’t mention slavery, or democracy, or even Facebook; it plays favorites among the states; it has typos, smudges, and misspellings; and its Preamble, its most famous passage, was written by a man with a peg leg. Which, if you think about it, gives our Constitution hardly a leg to stand on. [Pause for laughter.] Now stop laughing. Because you hold in your hands no mere book, but the most important document of our time. Its creator, Daily Show writer Kevin Bleyer, paid every price, bore every burden, and saved every receipt in his quest to assure the salvation of our nation’s founding charter. He flew to Greece, the birthplace of democracy. He bused to Philly, the home of independence. He went toe-to-toe (face-to-face) with Scalia. He added nightly confabs with James Madison to his daily consultations with Jon Stewart. He tracked down not one but two John Hancocks—to make his version twice as official. He even read the Constitution of the United States. So prepare yourselves, fellow patriots, for the most significant literary event of the twenty-first, twentieth, nineteenth, and latter part of the eighteenth centuries. Me the People won’t just form a More Perfect Union. It will save America. Praise for Me the People “I would rather read a constitution written by Kevin Bleyer than by the sharpest minds in the country.”—Jon Stewart “Bleyer takes a red pencil to democracy’s most hallowed laundry list. . . . Uproarious and fascinating.”—Reader’s Digest “I knew James Madison. James Madison was a friend of mine. Mr. Bleyer, you are no James Madison. But you sure are a heck of a lot more fun.”—Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Team of Rivals