For All the Pelicans Interested in Politics and/or Literature...

[CJFusco]

(... please excuse the moment of shameless self-promotion, but I'm very excited/proud about this...)

... my first book, Our Orwell, Right or Left is now available for pre-order on amazon.com. The book will be released on June 6, barring some unfortunate circumstance. As far as I know, the book will be available in limited quantities in some of the major chain bookstores, but the first printing is small so it may be hard to find. Your best bet is amazon, if you want to buy it. If the book has a successful first run, the 2nd printing will be larger. It will be reviewed, apparently, by several journals, and I will be appearing on a couple talk radio shows to discuss the book's political implications.

Simply put, the book is about Orwell's place in the political climate, who has claimed him for their own cause, and why his warnings are still relevant in our current era. I discuss Orwell's relevancy to political situations ranging from Stalin's Soviet Union to the George W. Bush administration. I think it could start some pretty heated debates here in OT Here is the synopsis from the publisher's (Cambridge Scholars Publishing) website:

"Writers’ words have always been used by pundits and politicos in order to further their own agendas, but it is probable that no writer’s work has been used (and misused) as frequently and as effectively as George Orwell’s. Once the champion of Europe’s down-and-out and a self-proclaimed advocate of Socialism, Orwell was, understandably, embraced by many on the Left during his own lifetime. Following the publications of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four – and the writer’s own death shortly thereafter – Orwell also became a patron saint of sorts for many on the Right. Within the arenas of political theory and literary criticism, this confusing and seemingly contradictory turn of events has resulted in an ongoing battle over the writer’s legacy.

Our Orwell, Right or Left examines Orwell’s reception history in order to decode why critics on both ends of the political spectrum have been compelled to claim Orwell as one of their own, and how they have gone about doing so. In many cases, when Orwell’s writing has been misused by those in politics, it has, alarmingly, reflected the same species of dangerous propaganda that Orwell had warned about in his final two books. As there is an inherent problem with a situation in which critics have misrepresented the scope and focus or Orwell’s writing – whether the misrepresentation happens to be intentional or not – Our Orwell, Right or Left takes a close look at the details of Orwell’s own writing and juxtaposes what George Orwell had written with the often dubious claims of his proponents.

Manipulative political propaganda, however, is but one of the many very dangerous symptoms of repression and tyranny that Orwell had warned against in his writing. As Our Orwell, Right or Left shows, there are many aspects of our contemporary culture that are worryingly similar to the Oceania of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. That Orwell’s writing still remains prescient even approaching sixty years following his death proves that he is not only a writer still worthy of being read, but that he is also a writer still worth fighting over."

So there you are. If you are interested in purchasing the book, the amazon.com link is http://www.amazon.com/Our-Orwell-Right-Left-Importance/dp/1847186025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211259217&sr=8-1 or just go to amazon.com and type "c.j. fusco" into the search engine.

(... moment of shameless self-promotion over.)

[Paul_Heery]

You should have Amazon fix the Editorial Review and About the Author sections on their website. The lack of apostrophes was distracting to the point where I could not focus on the content.

[gassy]

That's cool man--good luck.
Christian.

[CJFusco]

Originally Posted by Paul_Heery

You should have Amazon fix the Editorial Review and About the Author sections on their website. The lack of apostrophes was distracting to the point where I could not focus on the content.

I noticed this right away. I have contacted my publisher about this, and it's being addressed.

[CJFusco]

Well, I talked to representatives at my publishing house and I emailed amazon.com about the typographical emails on the site, but they still haven't changed. Any ideas how to get things moving?