Homo Politicus: The Strange and Scary Tribes that Run Our Government
by Dana Milbank
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Washington's most acerbic (and feared) columnist, the Washington Post's Dana Milbank, skewers the peculiar and alien tribal culture of politics.Deep within the forbidding land encircled by the Washington Beltway lives the tribe known as Homo politicus. Their ways are strange, even repulsive, to civilized human beings; their arcane rites often impenetrable; their language coded and obscure. Violating their complex taboos can lead to sudden, harsh, and irrevocable punishment. Normal Americans show more have long feared Homo politicus, with good reason. But fearless anthropologist Dana Milbank has spent many years immersed in the dark heart of Washington, D.C., and has produced this indispensable portrait of a bizarre culture whose tribal ways are as hilarious as they are outrageous.Milbank's anthropological lens is highly illuminating, whether examining the mating rituals of Homo politicus (which have little to do with traditional concepts of romantic love), demonstrating how status is displayed in the Beltway's rigid caste system (such as displaying a wooden egg from the White House Easter Egg Roll), or detailing the precise ritual sequence of human sacrifice whenever a scandal erupts (the human sacrificed does not have to be the guiltiest party, just the lower ranked). Milbank's lacerating wit mows down the pompous, the stupid, and the corrupt among Democrats, Republicans, reporters, and bureaucrats by naming names. Every appalling anecdote in this book is, alas, true. show lessTags
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An enjoyable look, albeit a somewhat disturbing one at times, at the bunch of loons we entrust to run our nation. Somewhat skewed in its skewering, it looks at more Republican misdeeds and oddnesses, but then my admittedly-biased opinion is that there are more misdeeds and oddnesses on that side of the aisle. YMMV.
Very interesting and somewhat depressing look into recent Washington politicians and the inner workings of the city. The comparisons to different historical tribes got a little annoying for me, and the book seemed to just end without any type of summation. Overall, worth a read from one of my favorite contributors on MSNBC's Countdown.
The premise of this tome is that Dana Milbank, Washington Post columnist, is an anthropologist studying the primitive tries found along the banks of the Potomac and writing them up for publication, possibly achieving tenure in the process. It only works up to a point. After the fifth or sixth chapter the joke is pretty stale.
Politicians, lobbyists, journalists, staffers and various hangers on in Washington D.C. have their quirks and peccadilloes and Milbank is here to tell us all about them. Since it is on the eleven o'clock news every stinking night right after he drive by shootings, the carjackings and the baby alligators in the toilet, we are all pretty familiar already. If I hear one more blue dress joke I am going to scream.
The show more glossary of Potomac speak is useful and interesting, though. Here are a few examples:
You're doing a heck of a job.
You will be fired in ten days.
I don't pay attention to the polls.
My approval rating is 32 percent.
Frankly . . .
The following statement is false.
Since it's the quadrennial silly season I thought a bit of political reading might be in order. This is plenty, though. I'm going to return Newt's bogus diatribe and check out a nice Laura Lippman novel or something to cleanse my palate.
I'll Never Forget The Day I Read A Book! show less
Politicians, lobbyists, journalists, staffers and various hangers on in Washington D.C. have their quirks and peccadilloes and Milbank is here to tell us all about them. Since it is on the eleven o'clock news every stinking night right after he drive by shootings, the carjackings and the baby alligators in the toilet, we are all pretty familiar already. If I hear one more blue dress joke I am going to scream.
The show more glossary of Potomac speak is useful and interesting, though. Here are a few examples:
You're doing a heck of a job.
You will be fired in ten days.
I don't pay attention to the polls.
My approval rating is 32 percent.
Frankly . . .
The following statement is false.
Since it's the quadrennial silly season I thought a bit of political reading might be in order. This is plenty, though. I'm going to return Newt's bogus diatribe and check out a nice Laura Lippman novel or something to cleanse my palate.
I'll Never Forget The Day I Read A Book! show less
This book tells how the goverment is hunted and run by people who really do not care. It is a scary.
satirical examination of persons and customs in modern Washington
Strange & Scary tribes that run our government
Politicians
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- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government, History
- DDC/MDS
- 306.209753 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social Behavior - Dating, Marriage, Divorce Political institutions Biography And History
- LCC
- JK1726 .M575 — Political Science Political institutions and public administration (United States) Political institutions and public administration United States Political rights. Practical politics
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- Reviews
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- English
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- 9
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