Uncle Fred's Confidential Reader: Takeoffs, Definitions, Poems and One-Liners

Following in the tradition of wit and wisdom, along with Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary and Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac, Fred Barrett’s Uncle Fred’s Confidential Reader alphabetically addresses common terms, concepts, and public figures—both historical and contemporary—with a comedian’s humor and a critic’s commentary.

Learn the real secrets of the republican and democratic parties.

Get rich quick by following master schemer Alvin P. Golops’s expensive investment advice.

Discover the time-share opportunities at Scorching Sands Resort in Dry Creek, Nevada.

And let Uncle Fred’s bumper stickers, poems, and short plays entertain you—all the while delivering a dose of stinging truth. For example, “General Corncob’s Acres of Conestogas” is a short play that places a contemporary car salesman’s pitch into the Old West as Pa, Ma, and the kids look to buy a new wagon from Ike Roundabout, and Pa has his eye on a team of low-emission oxen to yoke it up to.

Ranging from pointed to sarcastic to whimsical, and tackling every subject imaginable, Uncle Fred’s Confidential Reader will entertain and surprise you with the turn of every page.

Fred Barrett grew up in Kenmore, New York, and has lived in Portland, Oregon, for many years. He has two children and three grandchildren. Fred enjoys movies, musicals, his workshop, vegetable gardening, and sports (especially football), as well as reading, volunteering, exercising at the gym, and most of all, writing. This is his fifth book.