OH, GO ON...
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The Authors Address Authenticity
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L E A R N
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HAPPENINGS: The Last Week
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The Meltdown:
 The U.S. economic downturn has ironically created a strong market for previously published books about the economy. Publishers are seeing the trend and seizing upon the opportunity of financial chaos, rushing to publish books about the meltdown -- even though we're still in the middle of the meltdown.
"We told you the economy is crashing" is not really our style, but here are just five of our many books that did just that, along with coverage the authors are now receiving (in just the past week):
1. Crunch - Author Jared Bernstein's economic analysis was featured in The New York Times, MarketWatch, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
2. The Speculation Economy - Author Lawrence Mitchell
was featured on Al Jazeera.
3. The Divine Right of Capital - Marjorie Kelly's book is enjoying a renaissance all over the blogosphere.
4. The People's Business - Author Charlie Cray was covered in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and filmed for Real News Network.
5. When Corporations Rule the World - Author David Korten wrote a fiery piece for Yes! magazine, was featured by OpEd News and also received international attention.
He's no Nostradamus, but author Roger Terry warned us about such financial nightmares back in 1995 with the aptly titled Economic Insanity (and he's still making trouble for the mainstream).
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Palin Story Generates Reader Buzz
 The previous newsletter's piece on Sarah Palin generated a lot of feedback from all sides,
and you can see four of the top responses here. (Please expand your browser window to the maximum to view properly.)
Palinmania continues. Riding the wave very aggressively, Collins committed to creating a Palin book from initial idea to bookstore product (a process that usually takes up to a year or longer) in fewer than five weeks. The book, a satire titled Terminatrix: The Sarah Palin Chronicles, comes out on October 14, 2008, but you can download a sneak preview here.
Is it a cheap shot for quick cash, or a much-needed book? You tell me.
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BK NEWS: "Confessions" Documentary
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 A documentary based on our bestselling book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (by John Perkins) will soon be showing at a theater near you.
The documentary, entitled Apology of an Economic Hit Man, has been showing selectively in New York and Los Angeles and was recently nominated for the nonfiction features award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. To see a short excerpt, click here or on the window above.
________________________________Comments? Tell Me.
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IN YOUR OWN WORDS: Random Mail
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 Literary agent Tom Dark wanted to know if we had any interest in two projects he's representing. One book speaks of Ovidian flattery image clusters in Richard II. The other book, by an investigator in the Simpson-Goldman murder case, argues
that O.J. is innocent. How to choose?
____________________ What Are You Up To? Tell Me
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SITES: T h e S o u t h w e s t B l o g
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Authentic conversations are beneficial, but are they possible online? Southwest Airlines believes they are, and judging by its blog, it may be right. While most companies try to control or manipulate their online image, Southwest Airlines encourages its employees to blog about anything and allows candid responses from the public.
The result is a blog containing incredibly personal stories, company problems, humor, and even a chance to vote on what Halloween costume the CEO will wear this year. Even the infamously embarrassing short-skirt incident receives attention and opinions.
The Southwest blog represents a level of accountability and openness in communications not usually encountered in the corporate sector. This accountability explains why Southwest is so well loved.
__________________________Gibbons? Write Me.
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End Notes The previous newsletter's trivia question asked which word describes the squiggles used in comics to denote swearing. I thought this question was a tough one. Apparently, it wasn't tough enough. The correct answers are jarns, nittles, grawlix, or quimp. Ross Felsher, Orin Laney, Barbara Liss, and Joe Raelin all guessed at least one correct answer (and won free books). But these guys...
 1. Greg Stephens guessed all four terms correctly and won two books. Greg also won the last trivia challenge. He is obviously a dangerous word nerd. He may end up taking our whole library.
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 2. Mike Levy also guessed all four terms correctly and won two books of his choice. He appears mild-mannered and harmless, but also represents a potential threat to our library.
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 3. Brian Gaidry guessed all four terms correctly as well. Maybe Greg, Mike, and Brian are not all word nerds -- maybe I am just too easy.
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 4. William Scheer received a book for submitting the most creative term -- bowdler (from bowdlerize, naturally). The term bowdlerize originates from Thomas Bowdler, the prim Englishman who decided
to publish a clean version of Shakespeare's work that would be "suitable for women and children." William also just completed narrating our book Crunch for the New Mexico State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
I am looking at these winners above and just realized that this list is like every party I went to in college -- a bunch of guys and absolutely no females. Ladies, please...
Trivia: That feeling you get when you realize that you had the perfect comeback to that snarky comment someone made to you earlier. You think how witty and slick it would have been if you could only have said it right there and then instead of just realizing it now . What's the word (or words) for that feeling? A free book to the first five correct responses. A free book also to the most creative response.
Send me your answers -- and by the way, what are you doing to prepare for the end of the world ?
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