A Bush & Botox World: Travels Through Bush's America

by Saul Landau, Gore Vidal (Foreword)

"Read Saul Landau."—Barbara Ehrenreich Botox promoters promise to wipe away wrinkles, the signs of aging—the signs of time passing. Such "eternal youth" potions metaphorically help erase the very notion of time itself. In a phony world, increasingly dependent on smoke and mirrors, it is no wonder we look at elected officials like a cheap circus act. Saul Landau travels in and out of America, from the stress-filled cultures of Southern Californian businesspeople and poor towns in Texas, to the wildly booming streets of Hanoi and temples of Angkor Wat, to muse on just how low we have sunk. The book explores the ironies of a time in which science explores the genetic code and masters the physics of instant global communication technology, while bible thumpers and talkers to Christ advocate medieval crusades to spread their order to infidels. Gore Vidal provides a scabrously funny introduction to a book by an author he says he "loves to steal ideas from." Saul Landau is an internationally known scholar, author, commentator, and filmmaker. He has won many awards, including the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award, the George Polk Award for Investigative Reporting, the First Amendment Award, and an Emmy.

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Saul Landau (1936–2013) was an internationally known scholar, author, commentator, and filmmaker who worked for forty years on social, political, and human rights issues. Landau authored fourteen books and produced more than forty films. He received several honors, including an Emmy Award for Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang, an Edgar Award for Assassination on Embassy Row, a George Polk Award for his investigative reporting, a Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award, and a Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award. In 2008 the Chilean government presented Landau with the Order of Bernardo O’Higgins for his human rights work, and in 2013 the Cuban government gave him the Medal of Friendship.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an extensive collection of books that have the word "Bush" in them. They are all about the man who spearheaded the rapid decline of America - George W. Bush. I actually could probably get rid of some of them, but not this one. It is deeper than the problems that Dubya precipitated, he is merely a convenient scapegoat and a symptom of a greater problem.