Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball bookcover

Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball

The Best of Joe Bageant

Joe Bageant 

(Author)

Ken Smith 

(Editor)
4.9/5.0
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world

Description

'Essentially, it comes down to the fact that a very large portion of Americans are crazier than shithouse rats and are being led by a gang of pathological misfits, most of whom are preachers and politicians.'

In 2004, at the age of 58, writer Joe Bageant sensed that the internet could give him editorial freedom. Without having to deal with gatekeepers, he began writing about what he was really thinking, and started submitting his essays to left-of-centre websites.

Joe's essays soon gained a wide following for his forceful style, his sense of humour, and his willingness to discuss the American white underclass -- a taboo topic for the mainstream media. Joe called himself a 'redneck socialist', and he initially thought most of his readers would be very much like himself. So he was pleasantly surprised when the emails started filling his inbox. There were indeed many letters from men about Joe's age who had escaped rural poverty. But there were also emails from younger men and women readers, from affluent people who agreed that the political and economic system needed an overhaul, from readers in dozens of countries expressing thanks for an alternative view of American life, and from working-class Americans in all parts of the country.

Joe Bageant died in March 2011, having published 89 essays online. The 25 essays presented in Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball have been selected by Ken Smith, who managed Joe's website and disseminated his work to the wider media and to Joe's dedicated fans and followers.

Product Details

PublisherScribe Us
Publish DateNovember 28, 2011
Pages304
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconPaperback / softback
EAN/UPC9781921844515
Dimensions9.1 X 6.0 X 0.9 inches | 0.8 pounds

About the Author

Joe Bageant frequently appeared on US National Public Radio and the BBC, and wrote for newspapers and magazines internationally. He was a commentator on the politics of class in America, and Deer Hunting with Jesus was adapted for the theatre. He also wrote an online column (www.joebageant.com) that made him a cult hero among gonzo-journalism junkies and progressives. Joe's second book, Rainbow Pie: a redneck memoir, was published by Scribe in the United States four days after he died in March 2011.

Ken Smith managed Joe Bageant's website from the time it was launched in 2004, and has promoted Joe's work widely to his dedicated fans and the wider media ever since.

Reviews

"Whether you're inclined to catastrophise about the fate of the US or not, Waltzing at the Doomsday Ball is a beautifully angry counterpoint to the shiny banners and optimistic war cries of the Republican primary season, as seen on TV."
--Charles Firth, The Age

"Bageant may write like a dream but he hasn't forgotten where he came from...Cutting through the corporatist film-flam, he describes just what trouble America is in."
--The Australian Financial Review Magazine

"Bageant must be one of only a handful of people who can provide and understanding of what America's redneck underclass is thinking. The mix of storytelling and political commentary is superb."
--The Daily Telegraph

Earn by promoting books

Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.sign up to affiliate program link
Become an affiliate