{"product_id":"benjamins-mess-sketches-tirades-and-spoofs-by-david-benjamin-9798991716949","title":"Benjamin's Mess: Sketches, Tirades and Spoofs by David Benjamin","description":"David Benjamin's anthology, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlmost Killed by a Train of Thought, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e won the 2019 NYC Big Book Award as the year's Best Essay Collection. In this sequel ... Benjamin messes around with subjects that range from politics and journalism to technology and travel, life in Paris and personal reminiscence. Among the surprises, Benjamin's eclectic vision shines a revealing glow on ...\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e... the ghastly thing on the bedside table ... Abraham Lincoln's discovery of the bikini ... The second coming of Jesus in the age of American narcissism ... the irresistible fakeness of Las Vegas ... the romance of Miss September, 1963 ... the attack of the sentient refrigerator ... God's second thoughts about the Creation ... the great Morovian housecat holocaust ...\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eAnd much, MUCH more.\u003c\/b\u003e--David Benjamin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBenjamin, David:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - David Benjamin began his career as a storyteller in Mrs. Poss' second-grade class at St. Mary's School in Tomah, Wisconsin. His fictional memoir, \u003ci\u003eThe Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked\u003c\/i\u003e, originally published by Random House, was reprinted by Last Kid Books in 2019. His Last Kid Books include a collection of his essays, \u003ci\u003eAlmost Killed by a Train of Thought\u003c\/i\u003e, two short story anthologies, \u003ci\u003eThe Melting Grandmother and Other Short Works\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eChristmas in a Jugular Vein\u003c\/i\u003e and sixteen novels, \u003ci\u003eThree's a Crowd, A Sunday Kind of Love, Summer of '68, Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter, Black Dragon, They Shot Kennedy, Fat Vinny's Forbidden Love, Witness to the Crucifixion, Choose Moose, Bistro Nights, The Voice of the Dog\u003c\/i\u003e and Benjamin's Jim Otis mystery series, \u003ci\u003eJailbait, Bastard's Bluff, Woman Trouble, Dead Shot \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eCheat\u003c\/i\u003e. As a journalist, Benjamin has edited newspapers, published and edited several magazines, and authored \u003ci\u003eSUMO: A Thinking Fan's Guide to Japan's National Sport\u003c\/i\u003e.Since its launch in 2019, Benjamin's publishing imprint, Last Kid Books, has won more than forty independent-press awards. These include, for \u003ci\u003eThey Shot Kennedy\u003c\/i\u003e, the Midwest Book Awards' 2021 grand prize for literary\/historical\/contemporary fiction, and a 2022 Silver Medal for Humor to \u003ci\u003eFat Vinny's Forbidden Love\u003c\/i\u003e in the Independent Book Publishers Association's prestigious Benjamin Franklin Awards.Benjamin and his wife, Junko Yoshida, have been married for ages. They live sometimes in Madison, Wis., and the rest of the time in Paris.","brand":"Last Kid Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51779413770514,"sku":"9798991716949","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a61539ae-3bfb-4082-85df-2fec71ac8af5.jpg?v=1765369827","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/benjamins-mess-sketches-tirades-and-spoofs-by-david-benjamin-9798991716949","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}