A Contrarian's Dictionary: 2000 Damnable Definitions for the Year 2000 - Softcover

Bob, Murray L.; Murray, Bob L.; Busch, Wilhelm

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0966015401 ISBN 13: 9780966015409

Publisher: Contrarian Pr, 1998

Synopsis

A 200 page dictionary containing 2,000 definitions for contrarians, sceptics and realists. The viewpoint is iconoclastic and the style is satiric. The goal is to "define" terms, names, and euphemisms in an amusing, pithy way. Many of the entries are topical and quotable. All (with the exception, perhaps, of half-a-dozen) are original.

Most of the entries are one-, two-, and three-liners, although a few are longer. Inspired by Ambrose Bierce's classic, "Devil's Dictionary," this is a book that will make the reader think - and smile. Topics covered include: politics, economics, religion, psychology, film, the theater, literature, philosophy, New Age, management, media, personalities, and entertainment.

Many of the definitions are accompanied by marvelous illustrations by the greatest cartoonist- caricaturist who ever lived, Wilhelm Busch.

A bible for sceptics, cynics, sinners, and radicals of all stripes. True believers read at their own risk!

About this title

About the Author

A librarian-administrator, consultant, writer, and teacher for 44 years, Murray L. Bob is a committed contrarian - or a contrarian who ought to be committed - depending on your point of view. Father of three, grandfather of two, he, his wife and their dog live (or some facsimile thereof) in a relatively remote region of Western New York. Like Stendhal, Bob expects his writing will be appreciated 100 years after his death - which is why he will have his brain cryogenically preserved in single-malt scotch.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Adultery: Takes the monotony out of monogamy. America: Land of the Fee and Home of the Rave. Atom Bomb: Made in America; tested in Japan. Bonnie and Clyde: Love is a many-splattered thing. Born-Again Christian: You'd have thought once was enough. Boss: One's superior; almost invariably one's inferior. Celebrity: The surest way to achieve celebrity is to murder one. CEO: Someone who hires people to make their mistakes for him and fires them because they do. Change: Political ideas are changed like neckties; political realities are changed like glaciers. Charity: Giving money to charities with billion dollar endowments is like washing ducks. Child Abuse: When the child abuses the parent. Civil Servants: Mostly servile; rarely civil. Cleavage: The Parton of the ways. Condoms: If they would put condoms on cigarettes instead of penises, we might be able to enjoy both sex and smoking. Coping: Planning is what we think; coping is what we do. Damage Control: Making molehills out of mountains. Death: A lot of people have died trying to avoid it. Dial-A-Prayer: Speed plead. Diets: Our principal form of self-indulgence. Dildo: A wife preserver. Hiroshima and Nagasaki: To err is Truman. Hunting: There'd be nothing wrong with hunting if the animals had the guns. Marriage: The chief cause of divorce. Neighborhood Church: Our Lady Of Perpetual Bingo. Newspapers: I never read them. I prefer being uniformed to being misinformed. Pat Robertson: A man of the cloth - cashmere. Seamstress: Life is just sew-sew for the seamstress. Televangelism: Salvation through donation. Vanity: When you're surrounded by pygmies, it's easy to think yourself a giant.

Edition details

• Publisher: Contrarian Pr
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0966015401
• ISBN 13: 9780966015409
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 199