The Real Thing

by Kurt Andersen

Overview

You may already know that Belgium is the most boring country on planet Earth, but do you know why? Or what makes the Mark 44, Model O Lazy Dog Missile Cluster, the sexiest piece of military hardware on wheels? Or how LSD edged out all contenders as the Platonic Ideal of illicit drugs?

From cities to sitcoms, from scotch to soda, from English monarchs to French movies, The Real Thing is a compendium of the quintessential, providing definitive answers to some of the most compelling questions of our time: What confection out-cholesterols the competition? Why is The Country Club the country club? Which Charlie Chan proved the least scrutable?

Author Kurt Andersen's pithy pronouncements sparkle with wit, sophistication, and a healthy dose of skeptical good humor as he strips world culture of accumulated hype and accepted wisdom, laying bare the sine qua nons and the ne plus ultras in a sassy series of satirical essays that give credit where credit is due while simultaneously foreclosing on the bogus, the ersatz, the would-be, and the has-been. The Real Thing is the real thing. These days, that's really something.

Kurt Andersen is a novelist whose works include Heyday and Turn of the Century, and he is the cocreator and host of the public radio program Studio 360. He began his career as a journalist, worked as a columnist for Time and the New Yorker, cofounded and coedited Spy magazine, and served as editor in chief of New York magazine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803220553
Publisher:	UNP - Bison Books
Publication date:	12/01/2008
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.62(w) x 8.38(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kurt Andersen is a novelist whose works include Heyday and Turn of the Century, and he is the cocreator and host of the public radio program Studio 360. He began his career as a journalist, worked as a columnist for Time and the New Yorker, cofounded and coedited Spy magazine, and served as editor in chief of New York magazine.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Bison Books Edition
Introduction
Beer
Affectations
Unpleasant Surprises
Supermarkets
Breakfast Cereals
Fears
Cars
Desserts
Bourbon
Law Firms
Fast-food Hamburgers
Industrial Foods
Boring American Cities
Brothels
Fun That Isn't
Colas
Country Clubs
Scotch Whisky
Basketball Players
Folk Singers
Beauty Queens
Broadway Shows
New England Towns
Names
Festivals
Cuteness
Situation Comedies
The Great Outdoors
Screenwriters
Military Weapons
Beautiful People
Myths About Childhood
Presidential Privileges
Planets
Labor Unions
Wood
Impressionists
Tax Shelters
Self-improvement Techniques
Telephone Companies
Homosexuals
Meat
Haiku
Opera Singers
Self-help Quizzes
Races
Astrological Signs
Reminders of the 1960s
Limericks
Ballets
Sexual Positions
English Monarchs
Gurus
Mass Murderers
Hippie Rock Bands
Charlie Chans
"Tonight Show" Guest Hosts
Proverbs
Boring Countries
French Movies
Illegal Drugs
Jobs You and I Will Never Have
Saints
Television Game Shows
Days of the Week
Enemies
Fabians
Similies
Bibles
British Words
Liberal Issues
Fashion Designers
Writers
Specious Historical Analogies
Funny Diseases
Insects
Furniture
Epilogue
Epilogue to "The Real Thing"
Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

“As if Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett weren’t enough in the way of humor, the state of Nebraska has now given us Kurt Andersen. As his debut in adult public life—unless you happen to count being an editor of the Harvard Lampoon part of adult public life—Mr. Andersen has written The Real Thing. . . . It can be very witty, as well as a number of other things.”—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times

New York Times - Christopher Lehmann-Haupt

"As if Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett weren't enough in the way of humor, the state of Nebraska has now given us Kurt Andersen. As his debut in adult public life-unless you happen to count being an editor of the Harvard Lampoon part of adult public life-Mr. Andersen has written The Real Thing. . . . It can be very witty, as well as a number of other things."

— Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times

New York Times