{"product_id":"the-real-thing-paperback","title":"The Real Thing - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKurt Andersen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eKurt Andersen\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou may already know that Belgium is the most boring country on planet Earth, but do you know why? Or what makes the Mark 44, Model O Lazy Dog Missile Cluster, the sexiest piece of military hardware on wheels? Or how LSD edged out all contenders as the Platonic Ideal of illicit drugs?\u003cbr\u003eFrom cities to sitcoms, from scotch to soda, from English monarchs to French movies, \u003ci\u003eThe Real Thing\u003c\/i\u003e is a compendium of the quintessential, providing definitive answers to some of the most compelling questions of our time: What confection out-cholesterols the competition? Why is The Country Club \u003ci\u003ethe\u003c\/i\u003e country club? Which Charlie Chan proved the least scrutable? \u003cbr\u003eAuthor Kurt Andersen's pithy pronouncements sparkle with wit, sophistication, and a healthy dose of skeptical good humor as he strips world culture of accumulated hype and accepted wisdom, laying bare the sine qua nons and the ne plus ultras in a sassy series of satirical essays that give credit where credit is due while simultaneously foreclosing on the bogus, the ersatz, the would-be, and the has-been. \u003ci\u003eThe Real Thing\u003c\/i\u003e is the real thing. These days, that's really something.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eKurt Andersen is a novelist whose works include \u003ci\u003eHeyday\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTurn of the Century\u003c\/i\u003e, and he is the cocreator and host of the public radio program \u003ci\u003eStudio 360\u003c\/i\u003e. He began his career as a journalist, worked as a columnist for \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, cofounded and coedited\u003ci\u003e Spy\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, and served as editor in chief of \u003ci\u003eNew York\u003c\/i\u003e magazine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 200\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.4 x 7.8 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 01, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47853514981597,"sku":"9780803220553","price":17.23,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/nB-8N0iTUt9780803220553.webp?v=1777146977","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/the-real-thing-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}