Book Title: Hippo Eats Dwarf
Author: Alex Boese This is not a book to be read at one sitting. Exposing bizarre and incredible scams, the cons and overall weirdness that typifies the human condition in the 21st century; Boese takes us on a journey of discovery. The book is well organized throughout as the author chooses to establish a set of “reality check” principles and then follows by demonstrating how those “conned” or tricked by scammers would have avoided such by adhering to his stated principles. Further, the book chronicles not only the more exotic instances of the weird. Also featured are the more infamous examples of such. The Nigerian Bank Scam and the image of Mary supposedly appearing in a toasted sandwich (or any unlikely place), notorious traps for the gullible; are discussed. Structured into chapters which take us from birth to death (through romance, food, photography and advertising); Boese, by including some well-known historical boom and bust disasters like the South Sea Bubble catastrophe, makes the book as informative as it is entertaining. There are some definite eye-openers here also. Take for example “roach baiting” which Boese defines as: “hiring undercover marketers to hang out in public and visibly use a product”. How disturbing! It seems that the 21st century marketing and/or advertising agency knows no boundaries in its efforts to win the hearts and souls of potential consumers of their product(s). I have only one small criticism of Boese’s book. It is annoyingly Amero-centric to the point where you feel that if you are not from America, that you are a sort of voyeur, trespassing on material intended for his target audience of US citizens. If you can overlook that inadequacy, Hippo Eats Dwarf is a very interesting book of the famous essay writer from the US. “Rumpole and the Reign of Terror” by John Mortimer For those familiar with Mortimer’s Rumpole of the Bailey, either through the novels or the TV series which featured Leo McKern; much of this book will seem like revisiting old territory - but what a splendid territory it is! Many of the old favourites re-appear: Justice ("the bull") Bullingham, Claude Erskine-Brown, Bonny Bernard, (Rumpole's instructing solicitor), Ferdinand Ian Gilmour Newton ("Fig" Newton, a private detective often employed by Rumpole) and of course, Rumpole's long-suffering wife "She who must be obeyed", Hilda Rumpole. Mortimer is quite wily in inserting his attacks on the way that a legal system which took centuries to develop in order to ensure fairness and due process, is being perverted by present-day, johnny-come-lately (and in this case, the British) governments because they have or have invented spurious rumours of terrorism. Although forming the backdrop for the novel, Mortimer never allows this theme to dominate nor detract from the sheer entertainment of a Rumpole novel where She-who-must-be-obeyed takes to beginning her own memoirs and is courted by Rumpole's nemesis in the form of Justice Leonard ("the bull") Bullingham. Yes, ok, I confess to being a diehard Rumpole fan but I was so captivated by this novel that I just wished that it would go on and on and I read it slowly to savour the feeling of being acquainted with old friends and even rogues (in the form of the Molloys and the Timsons, two London families of villains). If you have never been acquainted with Horace Rumpole, frequenter of Pommeroy's Wine Bar, imbiber of Chateau Thames Embankment, resident of Froxbury Mansions and who will never be Judge Rumpole or Horace Rumpole QC; may I take a liberty and on behalf of John Mortimer, invite you to make his acquaintance through Rumpole and the Reign of Terror.
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