BobHarris.com - Feel Like Screaming?

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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Feel Like Screaming?

Tag it now -

Tuesday, 09 November 2004

Like you, I'm pissed. I'm not sure what to do next. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand by silently while George W. Bush smugly takes another oath of office, rides in his smoked-window limousine through the capital of a nation he's unfit to serve, and attends an inaugural ball with a gazillion self-congratulating fatcats who think they can push us around.

No. I want to scream that word right now. No. At the top of my lungs. No. No. No.

I have an idea. I don't know if you'll like it or think it's funny or want to join in.

But I intend to scream my head off during the hour of Bush's oath of office. When my voice gives out, I'll make a ruckus with anything else I have. Musical instruments. Pots and pans. You name it.

And I'm starting to hope you'll join in.

Maybe this is foolish, but so be it. But suddenly I'm smiling. Suddenly I have this hopeful picture in my head of people joining in, venting, laughing, grinning at the noise -- pissed-off liberals all over the country announcing their presence, protesting Bush from wherever they are.

Maybe I saw that mad-as-hell scene in Network once too often. But still. It would be wonderful, wouldn't it?

I have this picture of Bush taking his so-solemn oath in DC interrupted by the distant, unavoidable sound of thousands of voices, all at once, making a noise of discontent no one can ignore. I imagine a loud, organized, damn-you-we-will-not-assent noise pouring out of windows, filling our streets, and telling the bastards they're in for a fight they won't win.

Maybe later in the day we can stage our own marches, coinciding with and overshadowing his motorcade. Maybe in the evening we can hold our own Unaugural Balls, festive organizing rallies where we find strength in each other, unite and find new friends, organize for the future, and most of all defy this dark regime with the sound of rebellious dancing joy.

We are still free. And dammit, I intend to shout and march and dance with my freedom.

Maybe I'm just daydreaming. But if you want to daydream with me, please do.

I am a liberal. I am angry. And I want Bush's second term to begin on our terms, not his.

I'm a writer, not an organizer. I don't know much about getting this done. Maybe you'll join me. Maybe others will join in. Maybe I'll scream alone.

But I will be screaming on January 20th.

Want to join me?