I'll be spending Black Friday on the air, guest-hosting for Rush on America's Number One radio show, live from 12 noon Eastern/9am Pacific. But I'd like to think that at least some of the folks trampling li'l ol' ladies into the dust at shopping malls up and down the land will be stampeding for my new book The [Un]documented Mark Steyn. The other day, Douglas Murray, one of the bravest commentators left in Fleet Street, snagged himself the last one in a Florida bookstore:
I spot one remaining copy of Mark Steyn's new book, The Undocumented Mark Steyn (Regnery, £19.99), in a shop. I am reminded of his story of a reader being told in a Canadian bookshop that there was "no call" for one of his books while someone at the end of the very same counter was being told the same thing about the same book. Accordingly I buy the last copy and check with the nice lady at the till that she'll be reordering. "Sure!" she replies. A bookshop seeking profits and not trying to push Noam Chomsky onto me? Truly America remains the land of the free.
Well, I'd like to think so. If you're looking for Black Friday bargains, on Tuesday a supporter at the DC Court of Appeals asked me to sign a copy he'd purchased at Costco. I glanced at the price sticker on the front and gulped at the lavish discount, and, even as I was signing, was making a mental note to check on whether my royalty would be similarly bargain-basement. Aside from Costco, The [Un]documented Mark Steyn is available in America from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and from Indigo-Chapters, Amazon and McNally-Robinson in Canada. Or you can be reading it within seconds - via Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks.
From Osama to Obama, guns to groping, Reagan to road signs, clones to drones, rock'n'crocs, it's all here, in one handy volume. As Rush says in this month's Limbaugh Letter, The [Un]documented Mark Steyn is a "must-read new book" from a guy who's "gutsy" and "courageous as hell". Jeffrey Falk offers a nice review, complete with scary author illustration:
The high school dropout's extensive array of facts, vocabulary, and allusions is matched by few credentialed pundits on either (or no) side of today's ideological and political conflicts. No matter how sagacious or historically aware you are, you will learn something from Steyn's facts and integration while being entertained by his wit. (An example of the latter: "James Lileks, the bard of Minnesota, once offered this trenchant analysis of Pete Seeger: '"If I Had a Hammer"? Well, what's stopping you? Go to the hardware store; they're about a buck-ninety, tops.' Very true. For the cost of a restricted-view seat at a Peter, Paul, and Mary revival, you could buy half a dozen top-of-the-line hammers and have a lot more fun, even if you used them on yourself.")
The [Un]documented Mark Steyn is currently sharing space, somewhat improbably, with Lena Dunham, Cary Elwes, Russell Brand and Tina Fey on America's Top Ten humor bestsellers. So it's not too heavy a read for Christmas morning, and may even see you through the longeurs of Boxing Day. And don't forget the book's a two-fer: You not only get a great read, but my royalties therefrom go to support my pushback against Big Climate enforcer and serial litigant Michael E Mann (see below). As I said, The [Un]documented Mark Steyn is available at all good bookstores, but right here at SteynOnline is the only place you can get a personally autographed copy. To order, simply click here.
~If you enjoyed my rendition of Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever" as much as Ted did ("Mark Steyn nails the soulfullness of my classic song!"), you may be interested to know that we added it to the line-up on my new CD. Aside from "Cat Scratch Fever", there's my take on "Goldfinger" plus the James Bond theme, a swingin' ride through "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "The Way You Look Tonight" in French, and more. It's just out at Amazon and here at the Steyn store, and makes an arresting stocking stuffer.
~As you know, I spent Tuesday in court in Washington for the latest interminable stage of global warm-monger Michael E Mann's defamation suit against me. Ever since my legal woes heated up and it became clear that the Mann vs Steyn case would be moving to trial, we've had various suggestions as to what promotional items we should be offering both to raise funds for me to afford a sub-minimum-wage undocumented paralegal and, more broadly, to let folks show their support for the cause. So we took your advice, and introduced two new designs, "Steyn vs the Stick" and "Clash of Sticks", that are now available both as T-shirts and sweat shirts (for men and women) and on mousepads and coffee mugs. We're also making it available with my book Lights Out in a Steyn vs the Stick Free Speech Special. It's a good way to support the side of free speech in what (as was recognized in court this week) will be the most consequential First Amendment case in half-a-century.
If you're unsure which books to get or what size T-shirt to order for your loved one, our SteynOnline gift certificates make a great seasonal gift, as well as an easy way to help support my end of the Mann vs Steyn case. You can buy a gift certificate starting at $25 (and soaring way up from there), and let your friends and relatives load up with Steyn books and music and trial merchandise at their leisure. The gift certificates have no expiration date, so if, in ten years' time, your favorite nephew has a sudden yen for $100 worth of Clash of Sticks mugs, it'll still be valid.
The gift certificates are available online here. Alternatively, US and Canadian customers can purchase them - or any other product from the Steyn store - by calling (866) 799-4500 toll free from 8am to 3pm Eastern time on weekdays.
And if, after all that, you'd rather support my legal battle by buying a book or CD, well, we've got everything from "A Marshmallow World" to the post-American world. There's the paperback edition of my previous international bestseller After America, and all my other books, personally autographed to your loved one. There are stylish Viva Steyn! shirts for men and women, and lots of other SteynOnline tees, sweats and golf shirts, plus mugs and other gifts - and all the music your party needs, via CD or digital download.
And don't forget, there are savings galore if you buy The [Un]documented Mark Steyn or Goldfinger or our other fine products as part of our exclusive SteynOnline special offers. It's easier than spending Black Friday getting ground into the dust by walker-wielding nonagenarian bargain-hunters at the mall - and gives you more time to spend listening to the radio between 12 noon and 3pm Eastern.