Global Village Idiot: Dubya, Dunces, and One Last Word Before You Vote

By John O'Farrell

Book Overview

Winner of the Best Columnist of the Year at the British Liars Awards and Britains finest satirist, OFarrell takes dead aim in Global Village Idiot at cell phones, awards ceremonies, genetic sheep splicers, Americas right wing cabal of dunces, dunderheads, dimwits, and the Big D himself. "Just when we thought the lawlessness in Iraq was over," OFarrell observes, "even more blatant incidents of looting have begun. With handkerchiefs masking their faces, two rioters roughly the height of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld kicked in the gates of the largest oilfield and grabbed the keys of the gasoline trucks. Yee-haw Its all ours Millions of barrels of the stuff they laughed. Yup added the leader and this mask guarantees my anonymousinity So after all these years there really is such a person as the Thief of Baghdad. Except strangely his accent sounded vaguely Texan." A writer for the groundbreaking television show Spitting Image and contributor to the screenplay for the hit movie Chicken Run, OFarrell meticulously researched his conclusions "by spending five minutes on the internet and then giving up." And while OFarrells sharpest barbs and stingers have often been written to come out of the mouths of grotesque puppets and Claymation chickens, this time around he keeps the best lines for himself: With the election of the 43rd President of the United States, the global village is complete," OFarrell writes. "It has its own global village idiot."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802140386
• ISBN13: 9780802140388
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

W-Bashing at its best!

Book in Mint cond. Thnx for sending so promptly. Lucky if I can find it now to wrap up for my hubby who will really love it. I'ts been well-hidden all these weeks since I rec'd it; I think it's under my lounge chair, hope so anyway. Maybe the elves read it after we go to bed. I think I heard some giggling coming from the living room. Thnx again, and Merry Merry! -dr

Not to be missed

This is one amazing book. It is basically a collection of weekly pieces written by John O' Farrell for the Guradian.John O has been a comic scriptwriter on the Spitting Image series and also has a turn with Chicken Run and his brilliant wit shines through. This book is chock-a-block with laugh out loud moments and you just keep going back to the passages to be tickled again. His writing is very low-key and the humour is subtle but it is so sharp the victims bleed!Not knowing who John O was, I picked up the book during my adventorous phase in reading and was aware that I had stumbled on a treasure. He is a Labour (Current party headed by Tony Blair) supporter and indeed a small time politico himself. His sharpest barbs are reserved for the Tory's (the only opposition in Britain) and all their leaders past and present. And these are howlingly funny. Altough the politics of the British nation might be alien to most readers, this should prove no impediment to understanding, what at the core, is a savagely humorous book. What also shines through is the innate humanism of the author especially in pieces like the one where he talks of the culture of charity in the country and his stand on racism. Also, his subtle character sketches of people like Jeffrey Archer are worth their weight is gold.This is a must read for anyone attempting to understand the British political and cultural landscape and anyone who hasn't laughed out loud in a while. Go get it !!