Laura Penny is thirty-one years old and tired of being put on hold. She is a teaching fellow at the University of King s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and this is her first book."
The odious lies of advertising and PR; "morbidly obese CEO bonuses"; news networks that are "content providers" rather than sources of journalism; "nutraceuticals," "cosmeceuticals" and lifestyle drugs; overly powerful and financially motivated insurance companies and HMOs; and, of course, the reliably unreliable politicians-Penny's political and corporate targets in this everything-and-the-kitchen-sink sendup are largely American (although she reserves some ammunition for her homeland, Canada-or, as she lovingly calls it, "Soviet Canuckistan"), and rest assured the U.S.A. comes off pretty badly in comparison to its neighbor to the north. Penny, 30, is a teaching fellow at King's College in Halifax. Her common-sense, ordinary-language observations are peppered throughout with historical context and riffs on current pop culture. (Some of the latter feel on the verge of being dated.) Penny's exemplars and analyses of official and corporate insincerity give an otherwise flip and insubstantial work some credible heft-even with the subtitle's blatant attempt to ride Harry Frankfurt's coattails. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Put Penny s slim but venomous diatribe . . . at the top of your
must-read list. "USA TODAY""
"Put Penny's slim but venomous diatribe . . . at the top of your
must-read list." --"USA TODAY"
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