It's not just Rush who calls The [Un]documented Mark Steyn a "must-read". So does Paul Tuns in Canada's The Interim. Reviewing my book, he calls it "a must-read collection":
Some readers will be challenged by his decidedly politically incorrect views. But the fact that what was once taken for granted – the differences between men and women, that freedoms of religion and speech are to be vigorously defended against fashionable ideologies and an intolerant state – is now deemed inappropriate in polite company is evidence of the truth of his thesis: we in the West are unable or unwilling to take on the barbarians at the gate.
A friend of mine who writes for a living, says that every Steyn column produces a dozen lines of which he is insanely jealous and that if he could produce just one such sentence in his lifetime, he would die a happy man. In other words, reading Steyn is pure pleasure.
Do read the whole thing. I have one minor quibble with Mr Tuns and The Interim, and that's with their headline, "The Re-Readable Mark Steyn". These essays first appeared in publications in New York, Toronto, London, Dublin, Sydney and elsewhere, which means that, wherever you happen to live, the bulk of this book has never been published in your country. Some of it has never been published anywhere - that's to say, there are bits from my radio and stage appearances that my hardworking assistant had to type up from audio transcripts. So I think it's fair to say that, even for hardcore readers, most of this book won't be a "re-read" at all, but brand spanking new. Speaking as the author, a lot of it was entirely new to me, as I'd clear forgotten ever having written a lot of it.
~South of the border, I spent a lively hour today with Michael Medved. We discussed Tuesday's election and other political matters, but also Taylor Swift and the wretched state of the music industry, with reference to Stephen Foster and some of the other cultural figures included in The [Un]documented Mark Steyn. To listen, click here, and then hit the link below "Hour 2 - Mary Steyn".
Yes, that's right. Mary Steyn. I finally had the operation. If you detect a touch of five o'clock stubble in that photo on the front of my book, well, that's what happens when you get the sex change on the NHS.
~Kathy Shaidle's review of the week's radio highlights includes my appearance with Glenn Beck:
America is becoming a society with two very different sets of rules, Steyn said. While ordinary people drown in taxes and bureaucratic red tape, others will get away with breaking those laws with impunity. It is hardly a recipe for social cohesion.
Neither, Steyn added, is amnesty, yet it may come to pass regardless... "Obama has figured that you can do an awful lot to this country, and the Republicans will do what they are best at doing, which is playing catch up and living with it."
~As for the book itself, The [Un]documented Mark Steyn is one of The New York Times' Top Ten humor bestsellers, along with Lena Dunham, Cary Elwes, Russell Brand and Tina Fey. Which is pretty funny when you think about it. American readers can buy it now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and even your local Costco, or head north and pick it up from Indigo-Chapters, Amazon and McNally-Robinson in Canada. Or, for instant gratification, get it in eBook - in Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks. And, wherever you are on the planet, we're happy to ship you a personally autographed copy direct from the SteynOnline bookstore.
