Synopses & Reviews
A collection of famous and infamous apologies - from Janet Jackson to Jesse Jackson, Jarry Falwell to Jerry Lewis - that proves anyone is capable of screwing up, big time.
Whether it's in the field of politics, sports, entertainment, business or religion, to err is human but to err in public is humiliating. In this anthology of apologies ranging from grudging to groveling, both the famous and the infamous seek forgiveness. From Jesse Jackson (for saying "Hymietown") to Janet Jackson (for her wardrobe malfunction), from Hugh Grant (for the hooker) to Bill Clinton (for the intern), from Sen. Bob Packwood (for groping women) to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (for groping women), the public apology has become a cleansing rite of passage for transgressors of all kinds.
My Bad collects the most exquisitely squirm-inducing pleas for forgiveness to have passed the lips of the nation's misbehavers. Both hilarious and educational - did you know that Ted Turner insulted not just the Italians and the Poles but also African-Americans and Christians, or that the lead singer for Blood, Sweat & Tears told his largely Jewish audience that the weather was "as hot as the last train car going to Auschwitz"? - My Bad pays tribute to the wildly entertaining ritual that the public apology has become.
Review
Praise for My Bad: “Ideal for spot reading.”—Publishers Weekly
“Sneakily profound.”—New York Observer
“Were giddy with guilt.”—Seattle Times
“Hilarious.”—Tampa Tribune
“Even contrition can be entertaining.”—Arizona Republic
“Its nearly impossible to open without stumbling upon a gaffe or torturously worded apology chockablock with laugh-out-loud potential.”—Flak magazine
Synopsis
Updated to include new apologies: “[A] densely packed grab bag…an invaluable history lesson, reassuring in its lest-we-forgetness, riveting in its revelations.”—Entertainment Weekly With an additional 200 mind-boggling miscues and mealy-mouthed mea culpas, My Bad celebrates the best of this years most exquisitely squirm-inducing pleas for forgiveness, from a variety of famous flubbers—Donald Rumsfield to Don Imus, Mel Gibson to Michael Richards—that proves public apologies are as American as pleading the Fifth.
About the Author
Paul Slansky is the author of
The Clothes Have No Emperor and
The George W. Bush Quiz Book. His work is frequently featured in the
New Yorker. He lives in Los Angeles.
Arleen Sorkin is a film and television writer, producer, and actress.