Description

Named One of 7 Best Nonfiction Books of the Fall by Kirkus Reviews

Andy Borowitz, “one of the funniest people in America” (CBS Sunday Morning), brilliantly examines the intellectual deterioration of American politics, from Ronald Reagan to Dan Quayle, from George W. Bush to Sarah Palin, to its apotheosis in Donald J. Trump.

The winner of the first-ever National Press Club award for humor, Andy Borowitz has been called a “Swiftian satirist” (The Wall Street Journal) and “one of the country’s finest satirists” (The New York Times). Millions of fans and New Yorker readers enjoy his satirical news column “The Borowitz Report.” Now, in Profiles in Ignorance, he offers a witty, spot-on diagnosis of our country’s political troubles by showing how ignorant leaders are degrading, embarrassing, and endangering our nation.

Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years, American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge, and mass media have encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking. Starting with Ronald Reagan’s first campaign for governor of California in 1966 and culminating with the election of Donald J. Trump to the White House, Borowitz shows how, during the age of twenty-four-hour news and social media, the US has elected politicians to positions of great power whose lack of the most basic information is terrifying. In addition to Reagan, Quayle, Bush, Palin, and Trump, Borowitz covers a host of congresspersons, senators, and governors who have helped lower the bar over the past five decades.

Profiles in Ignorance aims to make us both laugh and cry: laugh at the idiotic antics of these public figures, and cry at the cataclysms these icons of ignorance have caused. But most importantly, the book delivers a call to action and a cause for optimism: History doesn’t move in a straight line, and we can change course if we act now.

Publisher Review

"How did we slide into the abyss of liking our politicians to be-or to act-dumb rather than smart? In this funny but serious book, Andy Borowitz chronicles our embrace of anti-intellectualism." -Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Code Breaker "This is one of these brilliant books that makes you laugh until you cry. Borowitz masterfully throws light (and shade) on the confederacy of dunces who have fumbled their way into power. His writing has never been smarter, sharper, or more necessary." -Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book "Highly recommended. Can't remember the last time I read something so maddening that was also so hilarious. Also, it is diagnostically astute about the rise of ignorance in American politics." -Kathryn Schulz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize "A devastatingly funny takedown of a veritable Mount Rushmore of incompetents . . . In the hallowed tradition of Will Rogers, Mark Twain, H.L. Mencken, Ambrose Bierce, and other clear-eyed satirists, Borowitz skewers all manner of chronically befuddled, willfully ignorant dolts. . . . Ravaging this seemingly endless rogues' gallery of buffoonery and corruption, Borowitz marshals mind-boggling, breathtaking evidence. . . . While there are countless laughs in the book, they have a rueful edge given that we are all affected by such widespread ignorance." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Readers may laugh, cry, or swear under their breath (sometimes all at once) with this scathing survey of the seemingly increasing ignorance of American politicians. Borowitz, a writer of page and screen and satirist for The New Yorker, humorously examines the ever-increasing, lowering-of-the-bar expectations of presidential candidates' knowledge and beyond in this book that is perfect for fans of The Daily Show or John Lithgow's 'Dumpty' series. . . . For readers who have ever looked at the political landscape and asked how or why, this is a book that will inform and infuriate." -Library Journal (starred review) "A stinging indictment of how the Republican Party has, by design, devolved from at least somewhat reasonable or coherent discussions of politics and policy to full-on celebration of idiocy." -Salon "Andy makes me laugh out loud, that's a given. In this book he has also made me think out loud. Profiles in Ignorance is hilarious, original, scary, prescient and a wake-up call for us all. A must-read." -Susie Essman, HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm "Borowitz always hits the target. . . . The book is hilarious and scary . . . because it's TRUE!" -Larry Wilmore, Black on the Air "[Borowitz] sheds light on the cultural and economic trends that gave intellectualism a bad name and identifies the political operatives . . . who facilitated the rise of ignorance. Fans of The Borowitz Report will gobble this up." -Publishers Weekly "Is it better to laugh or cry at America's most profoundly stupid politicians? Why not both laugh and cry, as anyone will by reading this new book by Andy Borowitz. He is one of our sharpest satirists, as evidenced by his column The Borowitz Report, but he's wisely made this book nonfiction, skewering the dumbest of the dumb." -Air Mail "Hilarious and wildly entertaining."-Indiana Capital Chronicle "Worth every penny . . . Profiles in Ignorance is funny because it's true-and nutty. . . . Borowitz uses his skills to skewer and expose politicians. . . . An equal-opportunity historian, he pulls back the curtain on Democrats as well as Republicans."-Worcester Magazine Praise for Andy Borowitz: "We need a new emoji to signal the uniquely brilliant humor of Andy Borowitz: savage but gentle, hilarious but sad, thought-provoking but never hard to figure out, ironic but without cheap sarcasm, snarky but never cruel. He's a national treasure!" -Laurence Tribe, coauthor of To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment