BobHarris.com - More from the UK: "F*** all if the bastard wins," the grandmother said

Books! Actual books!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Pulls you in like a good sports story"

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Endearingly frank... jubilant... lighthearted and fast-paced"

-- New York Newsday

"A surprisingly touching memoir"

-- Entertainment Weekly

"Snappy and informative"

-- Associated Press

"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."

-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"I haven't seen Jeopardy! since I was a kid, and yet I was charmed and amused by Bob Harris's fascinating and surprisingly suspenseful book. Through sheer force of personality, he takes this brainy TV show and makes it funny and easy to relate to."

-- Ira Glass, creator and host, This American Life

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, 4-time Hugo Award winner, author of Ender's Game

"Funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

-- A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew Bob was a great guy and a fantastic Jeopardy! player. Now I've found that he's also a wonderful writer. I think I'm starting to hate him."

-- Brad Rutter, top money-winner in Jeopardy! history

Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."

— New York Observer

"Only Bob could make a user’s guide to our increasingly hostile world this absorbing, this breezy, and—ultimately—this hopeful.”

— Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING. A gimlet-eyed look at the world we endure that’s also suitable for enjoying with a gimlet.”

— John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise
and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

"All three [presidential] candidates should read all three of these [recommended] books, but McCain gets first crack at Bob Harris's "Who Hates Whom“... a lighthearted overview of the insurrections and civil wars in the world today."

— Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought, in the New York Times Book Review

Main

Blogs and news

More from the UK: "F*** all if the bastard wins," the grandmother said

Tag it now -

Tuesday, 02 November 2004

More from the UK... letting the Supreme Court thing move down now that I'm certain I've made my point...

Every TV I've seen in a public space here has been tuned to news channels, awaiting word from the States. Every single one. In rest area on the M40 highway. In a pub during lunch. In storefronts. Everywhere.

And I promise you this is true: everyone I have met -- everyone -- is rooting for Kerry to win. (Or, at least, for Bush to lose. More that, in honesty.)

One conversation said it all: talking with a lovely woman named Shelley (name changed, privacy respected), about 60, just moving to Oxfordshire to live with her daughter. Reserved at first, but quite friendly after a few minutes of chat about the misty weather. She learns I'm an American. Before I express any opinion at all, these words pour forth, no hesitation, as natural as commenting on the damp air: "Fuck all if the bastard wins. Fuck all."

Shelley catches her language. Not the sort of thing a grandmother from Devon normally says. A small smile. My friend Jovanka catches up. We chat about politics a bit more, a bit less coarsely. We smile and go on with our days.

She didn't have to specify who she meant by "the bastard." Nor did she feel the need. Obvious. Implicit. The world knows who "the bastard" is.

But do Americans? I suppose we're all about to find out.