Homo Politicus
Subtitle: the strange and scary tribes that run our government
By: Dana Milbank
Publisher: Broadway Books
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
ISBN-13: 9780767923781
Subjects: Social life and customs; Political culture; Manners and customs; Politicians
Description: Dana Milbank writes The Washington Post's "Washington Sketch" column, a takedown of the ridiculous and the powerful that appears four times a week, and has earned the title of "the most hated man in the White House Press Corps." Here he skewers the peculiar and alien tribal culture of politics, examining the mating rituals of Homo politicus, demonstrating how status is exhibited in the Beltway's rigid caste system, and detailing the ritual sequence of human sacrifice whenever a scandal erupts (the sacrificial victim is not the guiltiest party, but the lowest ranked). He mows down the pompous and the stupid among Democrats, Republicans, reporters and bureaucrats by naming names. Every appalling anecdote in this book is, alas, true.--From publisher description.
Table of contents: title: Status : brahmins and untouchables; title: Kinship; title: Hunting and gathering; title: Mythology and folklore; title: Norms and deviancy; title: Shamanism; title: Aggression; title: Taboo; title: Festivals & social rituals; title: Human sacrifice; title: Fertility rites & mating behaviors; title: Cult of the choreutai.