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Waiting for Al Gore
BookFest Award Winner for BEST POLITICAL HUMOR
Lenny Beibel, a wannabe journalist, travels to an international environmental conference in rural Vermont, in search of a story that will put him in the big leagues. He sure needs one.
There he meets Rachel Seagrave, EarthKare visionary founder. Rachel and her team of bumbling colleagues still cling to the hope that Nobel winner Al Gore will appear in time to inspire the faithful. But time is running short.
Waiting in the wings is self-help guru Henry “On Your” Marks. Henry is the slick purveyor of JogThink, a self-help philosophy popular at business and sales conventions. How it could pertain to the environmental crisis is far from clear to Rachel and her comrades. But Henry is not one to give up easily. Renown for Creating Your Own Finish Line, he sprints onto the scene, determined to convince Rachel he is worthy of this gig, and worthy of her.
But what’s that, up in the sky? An endangered species bird thought to be extinct is sighted flitting around where the conference will be held.
With a mad stampede of birders, a missing ex-Vice President, and a keynote speaker who may or may not be a fraud, Beibel’s got his story. It’s just not the story that anyone planned on.
WAITING FOR AL GORE is a fish-out-water drama that blends the urgencies of environmental activism with the folly of self-help bombast, featuring an ensemble cast worthy of a Wes Anderson film.
What people are "Waiting For Al Gore is an object lesson about the importance of trying, no matter how bumbling the attempt, to get something done to help turn the climate crisis around. The results might not be perfect, but there will be results, and every little thing, including some jogging, will help move the cause ahead."—EcoLit Books
“…A journalist immerses himself in an environmentalist’s world, where everyone has a dream and an angle.”—Foreward Reviews
“A wonderful comic novel, and a wry commentary on the difficulty of herding (environmentalist) cats.”—Peter Behrens, author of Carry Me
"Will Al Gore actually appear at the no-frills summit of a fledgling, dysfunctional environmental group? Indeed, will anyone show up? These are two of the mysteries that sustain Bob Katz' entertaining tale of a band of wanna-be's and never-been's eager to change the world, and their lives."—Sean B. Carroll, author of A Series of Fortunate Events and The Serengeti Rules
"A breezily entertaining and warm-hearted sendup of the inconvenient truths of green politics and participatory journalism. Lenny Beibel, Henry Marks, and the rest of Bob Katz's not-so-merry band of EarthKare activists make for delightful and delightfully infuriating company."—Adam Langer, bestselling author of Crossing California, The Thieves of Manhattan, and Cyclorama
"It's a rare bird of a novelist who can simultaneously satirize and celebrate a social movement. Bob Katz is offering precisely what we depressed environmentalists a send-up of our ridiculousness (we can be pretty ridiculous) and a reminder that what really matters is embracing life, in all its diverse forms, and all its wonderful absurdity."—Aaron Sachs, author of Stay Why Dark Comedy Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change.
"You would think it'd be hard to weave the environmental movement, hucksterism, sex, media, jogging, and an extinct(?) bird into a compelling novel... and you would be right. But Bob Katz pulls it off with aplomb, and he delivers plenty of wry humor along the way. 'Waiting for Al Gore' is a fun (and funny) read that hums along, with twists and turns every step of the way."—Mark Remy, author of The Runner's Rule Book and creator of DumbRunner.com
Lenny Beibel, a wannabe journalist, travels to an international environmental conference in rural Vermont, in search of a story that will put him in the big leagues. He sure needs one.
There he meets Rachel Seagrave, EarthKare visionary founder. Rachel and her team of bumbling colleagues still cling to the hope that Nobel winner Al Gore will appear in time to inspire the faithful. But time is running short.
Waiting in the wings is self-help guru Henry “On Your” Marks. Henry is the slick purveyor of JogThink, a self-help philosophy popular at business and sales conventions. How it could pertain to the environmental crisis is far from clear to Rachel and her comrades. But Henry is not one to give up easily. Renown for Creating Your Own Finish Line, he sprints onto the scene, determined to convince Rachel he is worthy of this gig, and worthy of her.
But what’s that, up in the sky? An endangered species bird thought to be extinct is sighted flitting around where the conference will be held.
With a mad stampede of birders, a missing ex-Vice President, and a keynote speaker who may or may not be a fraud, Beibel’s got his story. It’s just not the story that anyone planned on.
WAITING FOR AL GORE is a fish-out-water drama that blends the urgencies of environmental activism with the folly of self-help bombast, featuring an ensemble cast worthy of a Wes Anderson film.
What people are "Waiting For Al Gore is an object lesson about the importance of trying, no matter how bumbling the attempt, to get something done to help turn the climate crisis around. The results might not be perfect, but there will be results, and every little thing, including some jogging, will help move the cause ahead."—EcoLit Books
“…A journalist immerses himself in an environmentalist’s world, where everyone has a dream and an angle.”—Foreward Reviews
“A wonderful comic novel, and a wry commentary on the difficulty of herding (environmentalist) cats.”—Peter Behrens, author of Carry Me
"Will Al Gore actually appear at the no-frills summit of a fledgling, dysfunctional environmental group? Indeed, will anyone show up? These are two of the mysteries that sustain Bob Katz' entertaining tale of a band of wanna-be's and never-been's eager to change the world, and their lives."—Sean B. Carroll, author of A Series of Fortunate Events and The Serengeti Rules
"A breezily entertaining and warm-hearted sendup of the inconvenient truths of green politics and participatory journalism. Lenny Beibel, Henry Marks, and the rest of Bob Katz's not-so-merry band of EarthKare activists make for delightful and delightfully infuriating company."—Adam Langer, bestselling author of Crossing California, The Thieves of Manhattan, and Cyclorama
"It's a rare bird of a novelist who can simultaneously satirize and celebrate a social movement. Bob Katz is offering precisely what we depressed environmentalists a send-up of our ridiculousness (we can be pretty ridiculous) and a reminder that what really matters is embracing life, in all its diverse forms, and all its wonderful absurdity."—Aaron Sachs, author of Stay Why Dark Comedy Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change.
"You would think it'd be hard to weave the environmental movement, hucksterism, sex, media, jogging, and an extinct(?) bird into a compelling novel... and you would be right. But Bob Katz pulls it off with aplomb, and he delivers plenty of wry humor along the way. 'Waiting for Al Gore' is a fun (and funny) read that hums along, with twists and turns every step of the way."—Mark Remy, author of The Runner's Rule Book and creator of DumbRunner.com
274 pages, Paperback
Published January 25, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 4, 2024
Summary: A story that pairs a struggling writer and a struggling environmental group hoping a conference becomes a big story when Gore shows up.
Lenny Beibel is driving his old Toyota Corolla to a rendezvous to pick up two leaders of a fringe environmental group. Rachel Seagrave is the founder of EarthKare and Frederick Wolfram is her earnest but overbearing communications director and assistant. They are meeting the rest of the rag-tag team at a rural Vermont camp owned by EarthKare, which will be the site of what they hope will be a game-changing environmental story. That is, if Al Gore shows up.
Everyone is swinging for the fences here. Lenny is a struggling freelance writer and EarthKare is struggling to hold onto followers. To be sure, they invited Gore months earlier. But his agent keeps stringing them along. Then she offers them a pinch hitter, Henry Marks, a jogger turned motivational speaker with a gig he calls JogThink. His audiences tend to be company retreats and cruise ship passengers. Somehow, the offer becomes a gift–Henry is coming pro bono. Rachel is assured the crowd will love him.
Then another unusual guest makes a fleeting appearance. Oswald’s thrush was thought to be extinct. Then there are several sightings, none long enough to be confirmed, but word gets out to a group of birders. The bird is elusive, the kind you only get to see out of the corner of your eye.
Meanwhile, Henry show up in the midst of preparations for a group of unknown size. And he seems the flake to complement what seems a disaster in the making. His first act is to take the whole group on a jog, not too fast. Slow jogging together spurs creative thinking. Wolfram foresees disaster and sees it as the opportunity to come to the rescue if Henry’s keynote flops. While Wolfram prepares for the worst, both Lenny and Henry do their best to court Rachel. And Rachel is courtable, although neither appear great prospects. The clock is ticking and she is weary of leading EarthKare, despite their urgent mission.
We read on wondering what will become of this trainwreck in the making, especially when a respectable crowd shows up. Bob Katz, a writer I’ve reviewed before, constructs a tale of idealists and bumblers hoping magic will happen in service of their urgent cause. And without preaching, he gets across the point that our situation is such that its not a time to jog but to run like hell but not without hope. You never know when either Oswald’s thrush or Al Gore will turn up.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Lenny Beibel is driving his old Toyota Corolla to a rendezvous to pick up two leaders of a fringe environmental group. Rachel Seagrave is the founder of EarthKare and Frederick Wolfram is her earnest but overbearing communications director and assistant. They are meeting the rest of the rag-tag team at a rural Vermont camp owned by EarthKare, which will be the site of what they hope will be a game-changing environmental story. That is, if Al Gore shows up.
Everyone is swinging for the fences here. Lenny is a struggling freelance writer and EarthKare is struggling to hold onto followers. To be sure, they invited Gore months earlier. But his agent keeps stringing them along. Then she offers them a pinch hitter, Henry Marks, a jogger turned motivational speaker with a gig he calls JogThink. His audiences tend to be company retreats and cruise ship passengers. Somehow, the offer becomes a gift–Henry is coming pro bono. Rachel is assured the crowd will love him.
Then another unusual guest makes a fleeting appearance. Oswald’s thrush was thought to be extinct. Then there are several sightings, none long enough to be confirmed, but word gets out to a group of birders. The bird is elusive, the kind you only get to see out of the corner of your eye.
Meanwhile, Henry show up in the midst of preparations for a group of unknown size. And he seems the flake to complement what seems a disaster in the making. His first act is to take the whole group on a jog, not too fast. Slow jogging together spurs creative thinking. Wolfram foresees disaster and sees it as the opportunity to come to the rescue if Henry’s keynote flops. While Wolfram prepares for the worst, both Lenny and Henry do their best to court Rachel. And Rachel is courtable, although neither appear great prospects. The clock is ticking and she is weary of leading EarthKare, despite their urgent mission.
We read on wondering what will become of this trainwreck in the making, especially when a respectable crowd shows up. Bob Katz, a writer I’ve reviewed before, constructs a tale of idealists and bumblers hoping magic will happen in service of their urgent cause. And without preaching, he gets across the point that our situation is such that its not a time to jog but to run like hell but not without hope. You never know when either Oswald’s thrush or Al Gore will turn up.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
July 3, 2024
This book is FUNNY! Something akin to a quirky indie film. It was a fun read and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in event-planning, birding, or environmentalism.
June 5, 2024
Not sure I completely got the joke, but I still found this entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews