A scathing satire of contemporary society.
A pseudonymous author presents a satirical guidebook for world domination.
“For those who are ruthless and cunning enough,” writes the author in this parody’s opening lines, “this handbook will lay the groundwork necessary to oversee a global empire.” Written under the aristocratic pen name “Sir Lawrence McAlister,” the book is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’ classic The Screwtape Letters (1943) as a satirical commentary on contemporary life told from the perspective of a megalomaniac. McAlister’s guidebook is dedicated to like-minded tyrants, and the author’s observations offer a scathing critique of 21st century politics, culture, and society. McAlister highlights the ways that elites can use rhetorical mantras to convince average people (derisively referred to as “peasants” throughout) to believe paradoxical ideas that serve the interests of elites, such as the notion that “peace can only be achieved through war.” Another chapter connects the modern day “corporate peasant farm” to feudalism and other forms of human enslavement dating back to ancient Egypt. The satire is particularly critical of modern technology and culture, arguing that smartphones, entertainment media, and public schools help instill “invisible shackles and chains” on the public. As the frequent digs at public education indicate, the book’s politics are generally libertarian (if nonpartisan) in their critiques of government agencies, burdensome tax codes, and surveillance culture. The author critiques the state government of Utah for finding “amusing and creative ways to bilk your peasants” via an additional sales tax on sexually explicit businesses; another passage argues that elites promote the idea of “sex for pleasure” in order to lower the “moral standards” of the populace. While the book’s critiques are well-informed and backed by footnotes, the cynical outlook offers a litany of criticism without providing avenues for meaningful change. Still, for those willing to “embark on the often dark, yet exciting journey that is human conquest,” McAlister more than succeeds in chronicling the ways in which political, economic, and social elites manipulate and control average citizens.
A scathing satire of contemporary society.Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9798218624934
Page Count: 446
Publisher: Ingsoc Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.
A principled athlete strives for social justice.
Kaepernick forthrightly details the activism that earned him global renown but cost him his NFL career. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback “was filled with disgust” after police shootings of fellow Black men in several American cities. Before a preseason game, he made a spontaneous decision: “It hit me in that moment that I should find a seat” during the national anthem. He did the same at two more games before reporters noticed. Kaepernick will forever be associated with “taking a knee” during the anthem, but he credits Eric Reid—a teammate who agreed with Kaepernick’s message—for suggesting that they kneel together during subsequent anthems. The protest changed everything for Kaepernick. President Trump vilified him. Kaepernick and his wife received death threats. And though he’d taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl, no teams would sign him. He will likely make news for his take on Jay-Z, whose lucrative partnership with the NFL was criticized as an attempt to launder the league’s reputation. Visiting Africa, where Kaepernick learns about “African leaders who willingly sold their own people to the enslavers,” he “couldn’t help but to think about Jay-Z and the NFL.” In opening chapters, Kaepernick recalls suffering traumatic racial abuse as a child. Being in “white spaces”—he was adopted by white parents—placed him “under a microscope every minute of every day.” He isn’t always nuanced, depicting some people he disagrees with as cartoonishly clueless. But his writing about how college and pro teams “lied” to him about injuries underlines his “feeling of being a disposable commodity.” A decade has passed since Kaepernick played in the NFL, but he stays fit in case “a team needing a QB” calls.
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781538777879
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Legacy Lit/Hachette
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
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