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"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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Monday, 25 October 2004

This morning's LA Times: 17 top fundraisers for Bush also lobby the White House on behalf of foreign countries, many of them (like, say, Myanmar) hardly having interests matching our own:

Consider Thomas G. Loeffler, a former congressman from Texas. He was the top moneyman for Bush's 1994 gubernatorial campaign in Texas, and aggressively collected money for Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. This year, he raised more than $200,000 for the reelection effort.

When Saudi Arabia contacted his lobbying firm, seeking some face time with Bush officials about trade and the war on terrorism, Loeffler obliged. In July 2003, he introduced the Saudi minister of commerce and industry to U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a fellow Texan who led the Bush fundraising team in 2000.

Later that month, Loeffler arranged a private meeting between Adel Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's foreign policy advisor in Washington, and Karl Rove, Bush's chief political advisor, "to discuss Saudi trade matters" and "the kingdom's reform efforts and war against terrorism," records state.

And yet in the same article, there's this, said with a straight face:

"There is no preferential treatment given to anyone. Every American has access to the administration," said Steve Schmidt, deputy communications director.

We do? That's great. Think I'll sit down with Karl this afternoon. That's just swell.