STEVEN A. GRASSE
The Evil Empire: 101 Ways That England Ruined The World
[Quirk]
KARL SHAW
5 People Who Died During Sex and 100 Other Terribly Tasteless Lists
[Broadway]
In search of some light and funny reading—and to playfully pick on Anglophile guests visiting us—we recently picked up The Evil Empire expecting to find a humorous, witty, tongue-in-cheek dressing down of Britannia. ‘Twas not to be.
Inspired by Brits constantly labeling US President George W. Bush as
an idiot and Americans as dolts for voting him into office to his face when visiting their country, Philadelphia-based ad-man Grasse,
a self-proclaimed patriot, took it upon himself to write this humorless diatribe in response. The result is often a right-wing, “ugly American” manifesto that does nothing but underline the stereotypes we are burdened with and, ultimately, fails by showing the lack of humor the author charges the British with. (Pot, kettle. Indeed.)
Sure there is truth in many of the 101 transgressions the author points out—allegedly, the book’s underlying premise is to cynically take the heat off the US and its offenses 'round the globe—but let’s just say that if we need to brush up on the history, influence and misdeeds of the British Empire, a tome by the writer/director of The Bikini Bandits is not going to be within our first one thousand choices. C’mon! And what is The Evil Empire doing in the humor section of the book store? Shouldn’t it be kept wherever they stock Limbaugh, O’Reilly, and Coulter? Trust us, there’s nothing even remotely funny about The Evil Empire.
On the other hand, British author Karl Shaw’s is a fun, if sometimes a bit uncomfortable read. Hey, the title pretty much sums it up. And how could we not review a book we share our blog's name with? (No, not "tasteless", wiseass.) If you enjoy this sort of thing—we know we do—then 5 People Who Died During Sex should do right by you at the beach or by the pool. Especially if you want to keep to yourself.
