My Life with Che: The Making of a Revolutionary
by Hilda Gadea



Like he did at most things he ever tried, Che failed at marriage, too. That's why some dude named Ilan Stavans can write that "Che Guevara is our Jesus Christ". I'm assuming that means he's an idiot, so when, a few sentences later, he writes that in the book we "come across a Che that is, at once, small and larger-than-life", his humorous pun is an accident. Incidentally, a good title for a Che book: The Red Star of Courage.

Violence: Big Ideas/Small Books
by Slavoj Zizek



In the words of Steven Poole of The Guardian: "[Slavoj Zizek] stares out, disheveled, from the page and dares the reader to disagree." Well, I disagree. Brush your hair, you bum, and stop staring; it's not polite! Oh, wait, I forgot: a normal-haired, polite Zizek wouldn't be interesting anymore. Well, then, whatever it takes to market yourself, Slavoj. It's hard out there for a philosopher.

Inside Defense: Understanding the U.S. Military in the 21st Century
by editors



Essays on the American military: perpetual Miss Understood or alluring, deceitful femme fatale? I'm sure this book will tell me. I'm kind of interested to know what the miltary does, too. Baked goods? Is it baked goods? I bet it's baked goods. I hear McArthur made a mean peanut butter cookie.

Libya since 1969: Qadhafi's Revolution Revisited
by Dirk Vandewalle



I'll be honest: even though I've read the name Qadhafi over and over again and I know where Libya is, I don't know a g'damn thing about it. That's why I'm interested in reading this book. According to the description, if I do I will learn about two things: "the rise of the military in Libya, the impact of its self-styled revolution on Libyan society and economy." I guess Libya's been pretty dead since 1969.

Hell's Cartel: IG Farben and the Making of Hitler's War Machine
by Diarmuid Jeffreys



They'll tell you they were just following shipping orders. The cover is cute, though, with its rhyming title and 'lil Hitler. But I don't think the author's even a historian. Oh, well, Hell's Cartel, Nazi books will always sell.

The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization
by D. C.A. Hillman



And then—and then Plato says, he says to me, dude, we're in Atlantis, dude. And I was like, no way, man. And he was like, yeah, yeah, cause, he says, Atlantis is inside you. Inside me? And he laughed and then I just tripped out. It was awesome. It was like my retinas were these pools of dark water and anyone could go in for a swim and if you drowned you were in Atlantis. God, I'm hungry.

American Puppet Modernism: Essays on the Material World in Performance
by John Bell



I know this is about puppets; but, as one reviewer says, "we belittle puppets at our peril." Or, in the words of another: "The essays in American Puppet Modernism are a welcome addition to puppet research and writing." Though I'm sure this is a fine book, and puppetry is actually a fine art that deserves to have books written about it, let's be honest: puppets aren't things we generally take seriously. Doing so is funny. They're puppets.