The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    Amazon Now Shipping Blowing Smoke

    By Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 3:07pm | Politics

    Wednesday, 9/29/2010. According to sources, Amazon.com has begun shipping first copies of Blowing Smoke, the long-awaited political nonfiction book by Michael Wolraich, a.k.a. Genghis. While there are no confirmed cases of customers receiving the book, political analysts predict that it may reach homes and offices across America as early at October 1.

    According to a representative from UPS, the first shipment of books has been awarded a status of Billing Information Received, which means that "UPS has received the electronic transmission of shipment detail from the shipper." The representative promised that "once UPS has possession of this shipment, the tracking status will be updated."

    Meanwhile, Amazon now lists Blowing Smoke as "in stock" and invites customers to purchase it at http://www.amazon.com/Blowing-Smoke-Whack-Job-Fantasies-Homosexual/dp/03.... Analysts predict that Amazon's book description will soon be updated to reflect the current title and updated author bio.

    Author Michael "Genghis" Wolraich was not available for questions, but a source close to him revealed that the bio information is wildly inaccurate because Wolraich no longer contributes to TPM Cafe, doesn't live in Philadelphia, and "isn't really respected by anyone."

    We will follow this breaking story as it unfolds. For updates, you can become a Facebook fan of Blowing Smoke at http://facebook.com/blowingsmoke by clicking the I Like button.

    Topics: 
    Politics

    Comments

    Used copies are $0.01 + $25.00 shipping.


    by Donal on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 3:09pm

    Is this going to be another one of those deals where the Pentagon buys them all up to bury the story? If so, is the author sure that loyal friends and family with comp copies won't turn around and sell them on ebay?  Just askin'-- Enquiring minds and all that...

    More seriously, congrats and good luck!

    edit to add: oops sorry, was meant as a main comment and not a reply to donal.


    by artappraiser on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 4:01pm

    So far, I'm still under their radar, but I'm expecting the military-industrial-Fox-News retaliation any moment. Needless to say, I've prepared a secret stockpile in an undisclosed lcoation..


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 5:03pm

    OK, so there are seriously two used copies now available on Amazon. Someone must be pawning their advance copies.


    by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 10:53am

    I saw a few used copies on the Canadian Chapters site yesterday. But they were asking $58 a pop. Today they're asking $31, which is still $10 more than the brand-new ones. Are there really people that desperate to beat the rush?


    by acanuck on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 12:20pm

    YES!!!


    by Doctor Cleveland on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 4:03pm

    Awesome, Genghis!

    And I'd buy all those copies I promised if, ummmm, I had money.

    And could read.

    And wasn't a liar.

    Still. It's probably a good thing that I've stopped lying, and just straight out told you I'm not buying the goddamn book, ok?

    Plus, I may be psycho. And might get arrested for doing something dire and inhuman. And if I was caught - if I CHOSE to be caught, that is - probably best if I wasn't carrying your book, and claiming I was just following the directions it gave me.

    So doing you a favour, really.

    But congrats!


    by quinn esq on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 4:54pm

    Actually, you've been banned from buying the book anyway. We're three steps ahead of you.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 5:00pm

    So do you get paid if people steal your book?

    Just looking for potential win-wins here.


    by quinn esq on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 11:47am

    I want it. Great, great, great.

    You have no idea how your book contract raises my perspective on life in general.

    Of course I will get it.

    I procured one of those prepaid credit cards for this.

    ha!!!

    Sell a million books.


    by Richard Day on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 4:58pm

    Thanks, Richard. I hope that you like it.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 5:02pm

    Congratulations!

    Does it come in a plain brown cover?

     


    by EmmaZahn on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 5:02pm

    Sorry, plain brown cover sold separately.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 11:28pm

    Why the hell would I buy a book by that dude Michael Wolraich, A.K.A.

    Whazzat, anyway?  A sorority?  American Kleptos Assn.?  Ah'm Kinda Asshat?

    Feh; cancel my order; I wanted that Genghis dude's book...


    by we are stardust on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 6:28pm

    Congratulations, G-man. Don't forget the little people you stepped on and were stepped on by when you're waiting in the green room for Stewart or Colbert to introduce you.

    And don't go all self-referential on us: "As Wolraich demonstrates on Page 137 ... ." That won't fly here. Stick to your usual bag of underhanded rhetorical tricks.

    And yeah, I'll buy a copy.


    by acanuck on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 7:08pm

    Looking forward to this.  Congratulations!


    by Michael Maiello on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 7:40pm

    I think the title and cover art are brilliant. Congratulations.


    by Rootman on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 8:09pm

    Homosexual whack-job fantasies, eh? i don't know why, but I was under the impression this was going to be about politics... But, hey, I'm open-minded. Looking forward to reading it - do you have a translation into Swiss yet...?


    by Obey on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 9:05pm

    Don't you mean 'Belgian'?  Is it possible you're thinking of cheese, given your proclivities for

    cheesey (it needs that exra 'E', sorry) fantasies? 


    by we are stardust on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 9:21pm

    Congratulations, Michael.  Looks terrific. Can't wait until you start posting chapters here--which you're going to do, of course.

    (Wait. . .you thought we were going to buy it?  Oh. . .)


    by Ramona on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 10:22pm

    This is good news.  Despite all that stuff Quinn has to say.


    by Austin Train on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 10:35pm

    Most good news is despite what quinn has to say.


    by acanuck on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 11:25pm

    Thanks all for the words of encouragement. I'll be posting a lot about the book over the next few weeks. By the end of October, I'm sure that you'll be ready for me to shut the hell up already. Many of you, perhaps, are already there.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 11:30pm

    BTW, I went to a promotion for Markos Moulitsas' book, American Taliban, this evening and gave him a copy. I don't know if he'll read it, but he was gracious enough to ask me to sign it.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 11:33pm

    Way to network, G. Despite what I've always said, you'll go far.


    by acanuck on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 11:37pm

    you'll go far

    I've got my sights set on Long Island. Maybe even New Jersery.

    We'll see how it goes. My expections are modest. If I can get paid to write another book, I will be a happy guy. But for starters, it looks like I'm going to do an op-ed for a big news site, which I will reveal when and if it happens. What particularly heartens me about the opportunity is that the contact from the site read part of Blowing Smoke and was very enthusiastic about it. I figure that if a few more people like her feel the same way, the book will do OK.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 11:54pm

    Best of luck!Cool


    by David Seaton on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 2:11am

    Congratulations Michael. What a huge, huge accomplishment, and to those people who have said or hinted they are not going to buy the book (yeah, I'm looking at you Quinn), while I admire your blunt and refreshing honesty, I have to seriously question your decision-making. 

    first of all, as loyal readers of dagblog, you know the book is going to be very entertaining, funny, insightful and well-written. or at the very least, it's going to be in English.  

    Secondly, it's a mere $18. I cannot begin to start listing all the worse, more useless crap you've bought for $18 in your life. Added bonus, and something I'm sure Genghis insisted on in his Amazon.com discussions - $18 is a very lucky number in the Jewish religion, signifying 'life' - Jews love giving gifts worth $18 (or multiples of $18) to other people, so send it to every Jew you know and leave the receipt in the package. Good fortune and/or a lifetime supply of delicious bagels will come your way. 

    Third, Genghis has worked long, hard hours building up this site. I've been in absentia for a long while, but apparently in the meantime he's also facilitated a smooth transition so that refugees from TPM can come here, be welcomed and feted and also keep safe their old blog postings. The least you can do is support him and show him some love back by buying a copy of his surely awesome book. 

    Fourth, many of you are not just readers of dagblog but contributors, so by buying a copy of Blowing Smoke, you are not only raising the profile of one Michael Wolraich, aka Genghis, but also raising the profile of this site, and by extension the profile of your cheap, ungrateful ass. 

    Fifth, we are talking hours and hours of fun trying to find all the typos and grammatical mistakes that are sure to be in the book. Heck, I'm thinking of marking my return to dagblog by creating a new series of blog posts specifically devoted to errors in the book.  

    Seriously, mike, congratulations. I can't even imagine how awesome you must be feeling right now.  


    by Deadman on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 10:14am

    You people listen to Deadman. He has a lot more sense than most of the jokers around here. Well, except for his decision to abandon dagblog. That does challenge your cred a bit, Deadman. I'm still hoping that we'll get you back one day.


    by Michael Wolraich on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 10:26am

    Congratulations to you, Genghis. This is an ACHIEVEMENT. Whether people like it/ don't like it, read it/don't read it....the fact is that you devoted months of your Life to it.

    Remember this: the better the book, the more effortless an effort it seems. The more organized and distilled, the more frivolous your effort to render a particular topic may be perceived. The more you offer (of yourself, your earnest efforts) in it? The more likely that it can be panned by they who have never dedicated hour upon hour of life time to its production.

    Which is all, actually OK. YOU know what you contributed to this work. And, therefore, neither idle reviewer (curses upon them who do not actually read the work in its entirety) nor desultory reader, nor relative nor friend, nor ANYONE who has not invested hour after hour, day after day, week after week and month after month .... knows, what you gave, without cynicism, to invite, in the future .... something better.

    So. Blessing upon your house and your heart, Genghis. You have wrought a mighty work.

     


    by wws on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 6:30pm

    Good luck and congrats!  My copy is coming in 3-5 days.  I went to your site and couldn't register a "like" but will keep trying.  I posted it on my wall.

     

    Will give you a review once I have read it!  Trust me -- it will be great!  (I'm not crazy about the cover, however)


    by CVille Dem on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 7:39pm

    Congratulations, Genghis.  I'll be sure to get a copy so I can tell people "I shared a hot and sweaty night in Brooklyn once with the author of this book."  Wink


    by LisB on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 8:28pm

    Oy, I remember. But we did it for Obama.


    by Michael Wolraich on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 9:49pm

    Awesome, Genghis! I am so proud of you!

    Do you have a book signing date yet for NYC? I'll be there from Oct. 21 - Oct. 26 and am hoping it will fall into that time frame!

    Woohoo!


    by stillidealistic on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 8:43pm

    Thanks, Stilli. Your timing may be perfect. I won't be doing an official bookstore reading in NYC until December, but I may do an informal release party on Oct. 22. I'll let you know.


    by Michael Wolraich on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 9:48pm

    Great! I checked with my local Barnes and Noble today to see if your book was in yet, and she said it is scheduled to arrive next week. Should I buy it here, and bring it with me to have you sign, or wait and get it at the party?

    Are you going to be on shows like Larry King live, or does that depend on how the book sells? I'm so excited for you! Maybe you'll even get to meet Sarah!


    by stillidealistic on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 6:32pm

    My copy is supposed to show up Tuesday. That sounds like a Star Trek trivia quote, but I am looking forward to the read.


    by Donal on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 10:40pm

    edited.


    by quinn esq on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 1:34pm

    ?


    by Michael Wolraich on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 1:37pm

    Now in bookstores near you...


    by Michael Wolraich on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 11:45pm

    What an exciting set of pictures! I'm crazy thrilled for you, and I hardly know you. You have got to be really stoked!


    by stillidealistic on Sun, 10/03/2010 - 1:39am

    Picked up my copy in downtown DC this afternoon and guess who is petitioning out front of the store?  Some folks with a "restore Glass-Steagall" placard.

    I'm thinking "wow, there's a group that knows what Glass-Steagall is and is pushing to restore it?"  (This was the law passed during the Great Depression that set up a firewall between depository banks, housing the deposits of ordinary Janes and Joes which are federally insured, and investment banks, which take high risks with the hope of high returns, with mostly rich peoples' money, and whose funds were henceforth not insured against loss. 

    In 1999, Clinton signed a law that repealed Glass-Steagall.  This put taxpayers at risk for losses suffered by too-big-to-fail institutions which, in the wake of the repeal, proceeded to mix plain vanilla old-style, conservative banking practices with some of the more recent high-risk types of investments that imploded in 2008.  You know the next part of the story.  It would be difficult to try to put that toothpaste back in the tube but Congress and the Obama Administration really ought to try to figure out a way to restore the function Glass-Steagall performed well for 66 years.)

    I looked at the leaflet the folks in front of the bookstore were passing out, and learned this is a Lyndon LaRouche group!  No, thanks. 

    I wonder which RNC or Wall Street lobby group stalking horse is funding, in order to discredit, this effort? 

      


    by AmericanDreamer on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 2:34pm

    Thought you might enjoy this, G. A Steve Bell cartoon from the Guardian, of David Cameron, the UK's Tory PM. His big idea these days is the Big Society,which he bleats on about at conferences and such to try and paper over 20% budget cuts. Anyway, here's Bell.... and the British equivalent of Blowing Smoke!


    by quinn esq on Thu, 10/07/2010 - 11:56am

    Wolraich must be Jewish also and he is trying to defend someone of his own faith right or wrong.  When a writer takes one side of a story and never shows even a slightly darker side of the subject you can take his work as biased hersay. I would never buy any of his work unless you are a fan of fiction. There are plenty of Kooks out there trying to make money off playing o n your emotions.. I am surprised CNN would put any commentary from someone like him on line . Assume Amazon etc must be paying for space..


    by MODERATE (not verified) on Sun, 11/14/2010 - 10:22am

    No anti-Semitism here, folks, move along, move along.


    by Doctor Cleveland on Sun, 11/14/2010 - 10:29am