Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball: the best of Joe Bageant

by Joe Bageant, Ken Smith (Editor)

Overview

‘Essentially, it comes down to the fact that a very large portion of Americans are crazier than shithouse rats and are being led by a gang of pathological misfits, most of whom are preachers and politicians.’

In 2004, at the age of 58, writer Joe Bageant sensed that the internet could give him editorial freedom. Without having to deal with gatekeepers, he began writing about what he was really thinking, and started submitting his essays to left-of-centre websites.

Joe’s essays soon gained a wide following for his forceful style, his sense of humour, and his willingness to discuss the American white underclass — a taboo topic for the mainstream media. Joe called himself a ‘redneck socialist’, and he initially thought most of his readers would be very much like himself. So he was pleasantly surprised when the emails started filling his inbox. There were indeed many letters from men about Joe’s age who had escaped rural poverty. But there were also emails from younger men and women readers, from affluent people who agreed that the political and economic system needed an overhaul, from readers in dozens of countries expressing thanks for an alternative view of American life, and from working-class Americans in all parts of the country.

Joe Bageant died in March 2011, having published 89 essays online. The 25 essays presented in Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball have been selected by Ken Smith, who managed Joe’s website and disseminated his work to the wider media and to Joe’s dedicated fans and followers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781921844515
Publisher:	Scribe Publications Pty Ltd
Publication date:	11/28/2011
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	15 - 18 Years

About the Author

Joe Bageant frequently appeared on US National Public Radio and the BBC, and wrote for newspapers and magazines internationally. He was a commentator on the politics of class in America, and Deer Hunting with Jesus was adapted for the theatre. He also wrote an online column (www.joebageant.com) that made him a cult hero among gonzo-journalism junkies and progressives. Joe’s second book, Rainbow Pie: a redneck memoir, was published by Scribe in the United States four days after he died in March 2011.

Ken Smith managed Joe Bageant’s website from the time it was launched in 2004, and has promoted Joe’s work widely to his dedicated fans and the wider media ever since.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Howling in the Belly of the Confederacy 9

2 Sleepwalking to Fallujah 17

3 The Covert Kingdom 24

4 Starting Down the Jackals 35

5 Drink, Pray, Fight, Fuck 43

6 It Ain't Easy Being White 53

7 What the "Left Behind" Series Really Means 67

8 Revenge of the Mutt People 82

9 Madmen and Sedatives 93

10 Somewhere a Banker Smiles 104

11 Escape from America 110

12 In the Reign of the One-nutted King 126

13 A Feral Dog Howls in Harvard Yard 145

14 Lost in the Hologram 159

15 Nine Billion Little Feet 169

16 The Audacity of Depression 185

17 Old Dogs and Hard Time 195

18 Meet the Leftnecks 203

19 Escape from the Zombie Food Court 206

20 A Redneck View of the Obamarama 223

21 The Devil and Mr. Obama 227

22 Live from Planet Norte 248

23 Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball 259

24 Algorithms and Red Wine 275

25 America: Y Ur Peeps B So Dum? 285

Editorial Reviews

Whether you're inclined to catastrophise about the fate of the US or not, Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball is a beautifully angry counterpoint to the shiny banners and optimistic war cries of the Republican primary season, as seen on TV.”
—Charles Firth, The Age

“Bageant may write like a dream but he hasn't forgotten where he came from…Cutting through the corporatist film-flam, he describes just what trouble America is in.”
—The Australian Financial Review Magazine

“Bageant must be one of only a handful of people who can provide and understanding of what America's redneck underclass is thinking. The mix of storytelling and political commentary is superb.”
—The Daily Telegraph

From the Publisher

‘Bageant may write like a dream but he hasn't forgotten where he came from … Cutting through the corporatist film-flam, he describes just what trouble America is in.’

The Australian Financial Review Magazine

‘Whether you're inclined to catastrophise about the fate of the US or not, Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball is a beautifully angry counterpoint to the shiny banners and optimistic war cries of the Republican primary season, as seen on TV.’

The Age - Charles Firth

‘Bageant must be one of only a handful of people who can provide and understanding of what America's redneck underclass is thinking. The mix of storytelling and political commentary is superb.’

The Daily Telegraph