BobHarris.com - WWMLKD?

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

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WWMLKD?

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Thursday, 04 November 2004

Two quick things as I try to catch up and unpack.

First, thanks to all of you here for making the comments sections the most interesting part of the site. It's extremely cool to log in occasionally during the day, when I don't have time to post, and just see that this is a place where people are engaged and thinking and passionate and searching for hope. That's really cool. Thanks.

Second, a quick thought about how to look at things right now. As others have pointed out elsewhere, yes, Bush got more votes than any president in American history. But he also had more people vote against him than any president in American history. And one percent of the vote in one state was the difference. (That's assuming the current numbers are to be believed, which I personally consider doubtful, but more on that later.)

The right is still better organized than the left. Absolutely. But the left is now getting better-organized than it has ever been. We're catching up fast. Air America is new. MoveOn and ACT are young and growing. People from all over America flew to swing states and fought like hell. That simply didn't exist four years ago.

Remember history. The modern conservative movement grew out of Barry Goldwater's absolute thrashing defeat in 1964. The same thing may already be happening on the left. Better late than never. This is the time to redouble our efforts.

And there is a bright side, such as it is, to Bush continuing to hold office. Iraq is screwed; at least now Bush will have to take the blame. When the dollar plummets (as it will sometime soon, mark my words, for a long list of reasons I hope to find time to elaborate), it'll be the GOP that people get pissed with.

Yes, Bush is gonna do some damage. Yes, the country is in more danger. But the mid-terms are less than two years away. We can take back both houses of Congress and cripple Bush's ability to wage war on common sense.

My personal hero is Dr. Martin Luther King, who faced down and defeated obstacles much greater than what we face today. And I intend to ask myself, at the start of every day, one simple question.

What would Martin Luther King do?

It's not a bad thing to think about as we rally our energy and refocus on the fight ahead.

WWMLKD? Seriously. WWMLKD?

Maybe I should get little bracelets made up...