The Presidential Trailer Park

On the heels of President-elect Barack Obama’s victory on Tuesday, I’ve compiled three presidential-themed book trailers for today’s trailer park. 

The first, Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, is written by the fantastic journalist Gwen Ifill, known by many as the host of Washington Week and the moderator of this year’s vice-presidential debate. In Breakthough, Ifill celebrates Obama’s impact on the current political landscape, and also takes the opportunity to introduce us to some up-and-coming black voices in american politics.

Next we have Bill Clinton’s latest book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. In this slim volume, the former president and present Mr. Hillary examines the transformative power of volunteering time and money to charitable causes.

Finally, Vincent Bugliosi’s Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, which presents a detailed legal indictment against the 43rd president of the United States.

November 7, 2008 | Filed Under Trailer Park | 7 Comments 

In Light of Presidential Victory, Obama’s Book Sales Soar

With his path to the White House clearly paved, president-elect Barack Obama is now seeing sales of his three bestselling books skyrocket. Almost immediately after his presidential win, Dreams from My Father (1995), Change We Can Believe In (2009), and The Audacity of Hope (2006), shot up the Amazon.com bestseller list.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400082773?ie=UTF8&tag=thbosn06-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1400082773

Dreams from My Father was Obama’s first book, published even before his election to the senate. The memoir chronicles his unorthodox childhood and celebrates the cultural inheritance and familial legacy left to him by his Kenyan father. As of this writing, the book is #2 on the Amazon list.

Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama’s Plan to Renew America’s Promise was put together by Obama for America — with a foreword by Barack — and the net proceeds of the book are being donated to charity. Holding steady at Amazon’s #11 slot, this volume outlines in detail the president-elect’s plan to revitalize the country, told with the no-nonsense, clear-headed specifics we’ve come to expect from him.

In the #1 spot is The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, in which Obama expands upon the themes mentioned in his unforgettable speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In addition to exploring his own personal views on faith and values, the book presents Obama’s vision for America: fixing a lacking political process and bringing back a government that is in touch with the American people.

And with his win last night, I think we’re well on our way to making this vision a reality.

 

Story Source  Chicago Sun-Times

November 5, 2008 | Filed Under Authors, Biography & Memoir, Newsies, Politics | 6 Comments 

Books Fit for a President

The New York Times on Friday printed a fabulous essay by Jon Meacham, entitled “How To Read Like a President”. In this fascinating piece, Meacham explores the reading interests of various presidents, including this year’s candidates.

The following is a quick rundown of both John McCain and Barack Obama’s favorite literary works.

McCain:

The stories of W. Somerset Maugham

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

The Bear and Turnabout by William Faulkner

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons

Obama:

Works by Thomas Jefferson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Abraham Lincoln, James Baldwin, Mark Twain, Friedrich Nietzsche, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Paul Tillich

The Federalist

Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois

Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

The Power and the Glory and The Quiet American by Graham Greene

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (the Book Snark’s favorite book ever!)

Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi

In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck

Power Broker by Robert Caro

Working by Studs Terkel

Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith

Both candidates like:

All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam

The tragedies of William Shakespeare

And if you haven’t done so yet…GO VOTE!

Story & Image Source The New York Times

November 4, 2008 | Filed Under Newsies, Politics | 74 Comments 

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      WHAT IS A SNARK?




      The Snark is a creature created by Lewis Carroll in his poem "The Hunting of the Snark". To give a proper description of Snarks, one must look no further than Carroll himself, who summed them up in one word: Unimaginable.

      But this much we do know: some have feathers, some have whiskers. Snarks sleep a lot, yet they are an ambitious lot -- with very little sense of humor. They love bathing-machines and tend to bring them wherever they go; they are also handy for striking a light. Snarks live on a far-off island, a place filled with chasms and crags, and are constantly on the lookout for Snark-hunters. Their mortal enemies are hope, care, thimbles and forks.

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