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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsDon't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, the Torments of Low Thread Count, the Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, andby David Rakoff
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:David Rakoff takes us on a bitingly funny grand tour of our culture of excess. Whether he is contrasting the elegance of one of the last flights of the supersonic Concorde with the good-times-and-chicken-wings populism of Hooters Air; working as a cabana boy at a South Beach hotel; or traveling to a private island off the coast of Belize to watch a soft-core video shoot — where he is provided with his very own personal manservant — rarely have greed, vanity, selfishness, and vapidity been so mercilessly skewered. Somewhere along the line, our healthy self-regard has exploded into obliterating narcissism; our manic getting and spending have now become celebrated as moral virtues. Simultaneously a Wildean satire and a plea for a little human decency, Don't Get Too Comfortable shows that far from being bobos in paradise, we're in a special circle of gilded-age hell. Review:"The title of this collection of humorous essays could also serve as a warning label for its readers. They'll want to stay on guard as GQ writer-at-large Rakoff (Fraud) skewers everything and everyone he encounters. His writing is at its best when trained on the pompous and ostentatious: flying on the Concorde or visiting an exclusive, $1,300-a-night resort off Belize. While attending the Paris couture shows, Rakoff reveals the silliness of the whole enterprise with quips about Karl Lagerfeld's pre-weight loss 'large doughy rump' and the 'dry spaghetti' of one model's hair. In another piece, a prominent Beverly Hills plastic surgeon tells Rakoff, 'this is the Dark Ages' for cosmetic surgery (meaning that future generations will be amazed by the inevitable advances) before taking him into an examination room. While Rakoff's sardonic wit is clearly his greatest asset, it is sometimes his undoing; the same dry humor that works so well when aimed at the rich and decadent seems mean-spirited when applied to less prominent targets, like 'Wildman' Steve Brill, who forages for food in New York City's parks. Still, Rakoff is generally a knowing observer of 'first world problems,' and his devilishly uncomfortable commentaries are generally quite funny. Agent, Irene Skolnick. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"When it comes to this country's penchant for weirdness and overkill, Rakoff is a cannily satirical tour guide — a talent worth mentioning in the same breath as other quirky public radio writer-performers like David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell." New York Times Book Review Review:"The self-lacerating wit of David Sedaris mixed with the biting commentary of Dan Savage — only completely and utterly original." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Rakoff knows the incantatory power of a story well-told, the art of keeping words aloft like the bubbles in a champagne flute. He possesses the crackling wit of a '30s screwball comedy ingenue, a vocabulary that is a treasure chest of mots justes, impressive but most times not too showy for everyday wear." Los Angeles Times Review:"To be sure, Rakoff can issue a withering snark with the best of them. But once his rapier wit has sliced the buttons off his target's clothing, revealing the quivering, vulnerable mass within, his fundamental sense of decency gets the best of him." Salon Review:"It is not unusual to find a humorist that is funny. But it is unusual to find a humorist that is smart and wry and sensitive as well. We find all that in David Rakoff." Charleston Post and Courier Synopsis:A dishy, incisive exploration of gossip from celebrity rumors to literaryromans à clef, personal sniping to political slander by one our “great essayists” (David Brooks) To his successful examinations of some of the most powerful forces in modern life envy, ambition, snobbery, friendship the keen observer and critic Joseph Epstein now addsGossip. No trivial matter, despite its reputation, gossip, he argues, is an eternal and necessary human enterprise. Proving that he himself is a master of the art, Epstein serves up delightful mini-biographies of the Great Gossips of the Western World along with many choice bits from his own experience. He also makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned best clever, mocking, a great private pleasure to a corrosive new-school version, thanks to the reach of the mass media and the Internet. Gossip has invaded and changed for the worse politics and journalism, causing unsubstantiated information to be presented as fact. Contemporary gossip claims to reveal truth, but as Epstein shows, its our belief in truth that gossip today threatens to undermine and destroy. Written in his trademark erudite and witty style,Gossipcaptures the complexity of this immensely entertaining subject. Synopsis:Rakoff takes readers on a bitingly funny grand tour of the culture of excess. He shows that far from being bobos in paradise, mankind is in a special circle of gilded-age hell. About the AuthorDavid Rakoff is a writer-at-large for GQ magazine, and a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine and Public Radio International's This American Life. He has also written for Outside, Vogue, The New York Observer, and Salon, among others. He lives in New York City. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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