Love's Executioner - SECONDHAND

Spin -- intentional manipulation of the truth -- is everywhere. It's in the White House, in the courtrooms, in headlines and advertising slogans. Even couples on dates -- not to mention book blurbs -- are guilty of spin. Here, colorful news analyst Bill Press freeze-frames the culture of spin to investigate what exactly spin is, who does it and why, and its impact on American society. Using examples drawn from recent history -- the Clinton presidency, the Florida recount, and the Bush White House -- Press first probes spin's favorite politics. He then surveys incarnations of spin in journalism, law, and advertising, and chews on the spin of sex and "dating," a word that has become the very embodiment of spin. Perhaps surprisingly, however, Press argues that spin isn't all bad, and that without it the harsh truths of our times might be unbearable.
With a keen sense of humor, Spin This! turns the tables on the prime purveyors of spin by highlighting some of their biggest blunders. Looking to the future, Press notes that the twenty-first century, beginning as it has with a president who was "spun into office," will be a fertile stomping ground for spin. Don't say you weren't warned.

In the entertaining collection Laughing At Life: Tall Tales & Other Short Stories, author Mike Benn shares many of his amusing life experiences as he delves into "tough" questions, such as:

• Have you ever caught a duck-while fishing?
• When your children say jump, do you just ask how high?
• What happens when the doctor becomes the patient?
• How significant is that red flashing light on your car's instrument panel? Join Benn in his search for "the perfect stool", and experience his frustration after purchasing the latest state-of-the-art home cinema equipment to the envy of all his friends-and after six months, still not being able to get it to work. Laughing at Life takes you on a trip-sometimes more like a stumble-down memory lane, from Benn's childhood in Perth, Australia, to his present-day life in Israel. Encompassing subjects ranging from living in a household of females to the adventures of traveling, and from coping with modern technology to personal health issues, Laughing at Life draws you into the Benn's world, allowing you to view the humorous side of life's challenges that daily affect each and every one of us.