BobHarris.com - "We Do Not Torture": George W. Bush, surrealist

Not Quite So New!

But still a great gift! Get some holiday shopping done early!
Order yours now!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... unlike his buzzer skills, 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

"Hugely funny"

-- Mental Floss

"Like Jeopardy! itself, it covers a lot of ground and in snappy and informative fashion"

-- Associated Press

"Down to earth and entertaining, even for non-Jeopardy! fans"

-- The New York Daily News

"A very funny writer... the book works like gangbusters."

-- Ken Jennings, 74-time Jeopardy! winner, holder of numerous other Jeopardy! records

"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

"Eccentric, energetic, and engaging"

-- Publishers Weekly

"The perfect gift for any Jeopardy! fan... I was thoroughly entertained"

-- USA Today, "Pop Candy"

"Surprisingly compelling... a funny and in-depth look at what it takes to win"

-- Long Island Press

"Wise, honest, and very funny... I wish I'd written it. Then again, I wish I'd won $127,000 and his-and-hers Camaros on Jeopardy!, too."

-- Jeff Greenstein, writer/producer, Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, Friends

"Cleverly executed... solid entertainment"

-- Kirkus Reviews

"Answer: A hilarious, engaging and highly entertaining book. Question: What is Prisoner of Trebekistan? (All right... that was sort of a lame Jeopardy! joke. But what can I say? It's a great book.)"

-- Paul Feig, creator of Freaks and Geeks, author of Superstud and Kick Me

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game

"Prisoner of Trebekistan is funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

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

"If you don't buy this book -- this funny, learned, charming, and surprisingly moving book -- I will make it burst into flames in your hands."

-- Arthur Phillips, author of Prague and The Egyptologist

"A keeper for anyone who's even remotely a fan of Jeopardy!"

-- TVSquad.com

"If you enjoy... self-aware, geeky good humor, this could actually be your favorite book of the year."

-- The Stranger

"Highly entertaining... laugh-out-loud, absurdist funny... hilarious"

-- Akron Beacon-Journal

"Hilarious... a true treat for all Jeopardy! fans."

-- Strand Bookstore

"Everything you'd hope for... surprisingly compelling... deftly woven together... this sweet, fascinating book is a great read."

-- Book-blog.com

"If super-intelligent space aliens invaded our planet and demanded to interview one member of our species to ascertain whether or not we human beings were logical, bright, kind, and entertaining enough to be allowed to continue, I would nominate, with all my powers of persuasion, Bob Harris."

-- Emo Philips, comedian

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew that 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

Now available from the Crown Publishing Group, the kind folks who gave you Prisoner of Trebekistan!

Who Hates Whom:

Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... wryly funny about some very serious subjects... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

“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

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

— New York Observer

“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

Order now from Amazon—and pick up Prisoner of Trebekistan at the same time and save a few nickels.

.

Main

"We Do Not Torture": George W. Bush, surrealist

Tag it:

Monday, 07 November 2005

In his 1928 work "La Trahison Des Images," Belgian surrealist René Magritte famously expressed the ineffable dichotomy of reality and its perception in one simple statement:

"This is not a pipe," said Magritte.

And so we ask: if this is not a pipe, then is it the representation of the pipe? Or is it perhaps a representation of something other than a pipe? Perhaps it is a representation of yet another mere representation? Therefore, what representation is ever authentic? Can reality, in fact, ever be represented?

In 1974, famed American surrealist Richard Nixon took Magritte's conundrum one step farther, with his own mystifying announcement:

"I am not a crook," said Nixon.

And so we ask: if this "Nixon" is not a "crook," are we looking instead at merely a representation of Nixon? Or is our concept of what is "criminal" somehow merely a representation of criminality, one which cannot be embodied by the actual president? Is the president, therefore, somehow above the law?

The art world was again turned on its ear.

But all of this was merely prelude. A deeper questioning of the nature of perception still awaited.

Finally, today, George W. Bush made a stunning announcement:

"We do not torture," said Bush.

This is truly an artistic breakthrough.

And so we ask: what is the nature of "we?" Is Bush simply saying that he himself does not personally torture, perhaps extending the "we" here to include Laura and the twins? Is "torture" itself the elusive concept, not encompassing practices like rendition, waterboarding, sexual humiliation, and savage physical punishment?

Or perhaps (and this would be truly the master stroke) Bush is questioning the meaning of "not"? Perhaps we are to contemplate the nature of negation -- and therefore question the very existence of any objective reality to negate?

Has Bush finally made his final step away from the "reality-based" community, into a land where governance is fully untethered from the humdrum limitations of conventional spacetime? Is the president, at last, above not only the law but reality itself?

We can only gasp, hope, applaud, and enjoy the brie.

As with the other great works, such questions will live on for generations, long after the artist himself has been publicly shamed, reviled, and possibly impeached by a public too small to understand his greatness.