American Freak Show and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading American Freak Show on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

American Freak Show: The Completely Fabricated Stories of Our New National Treasures [Hardcover]

Willie Geist
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

List Price: $23.99
Price: $15.63 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $8.36 (35%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it tomorrow, May 24? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $9.99  
Hardcover, Bargain Price $9.60  
Hardcover, October 12, 2010 $15.63  
Paperback, Bargain Price $5.60  
Audio, CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged $15.59  
Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged $14.95 or Free with Audible 30-day free trial
Summer Reading
Summer Reading
Browse the best books of summer including blockbusters, beach reads, and editors' picks in our Summer Reading Store.

Book Description

October 12, 2010
This is not the first book written about quantum mechanics, but it just might be the last. The theory presented inside these pages is so revolutionary that it has stunned the scientific community into reconsidering centuries of thought about the behavior of energy and matter. Prepare to have your mind blown.

Sorry, that’s the introduction to Willie Geist’s next book—the culmination of his life’s work. Look for it next spring, just in time for Mother’s Day. This book is about his other passion: freaks.

When he’s not in the lab, Geist spends his time on MSNBC’s Morning Joe sifting through the wreckage of American politics and popular culture. These days, that’s a big job. With an Alaska hockey mom turning, almost overnight, into a national icon and threatening to move from Wasilla to the White House, with the world’s most famous athlete now associated less with the Masters and more with the strippers, and with reality TV working around the clock to ensure the constitutional right of every man, woman, and child to fifteen minutes of fame, Geist’s business is thriving.

In his hilarious first book, American Freak Show, Geist takes the smart, biting observation loved by his television audience to new satirical extremes. The real-life characters who now haunt our daily lives are cast as stars in completely made-up scenes that, frankly, are not all that far from reality.

Geist treats us to the first look at President Sarah Palin’s unconventional inaugural address, performed live on WWE’s Monday Night Raw after her renegade victory in the 2012 election. We go inside the ballroom for a Dean Martin–style welcome roast of Bernie Madoff upon his arrival in Hell, with Pol Pot serving as sidesplitting roastmaster. Geist provides us with never-before-seen FBI wiretap transcripts of the more mundane, but equally profane, telephone conversations of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. And George W. Bush’s batting-cage-and-waterslide-themed plans for a presidential library are laid out publicly for the first time.

From Obama to Oprah, Afghanistan to Lohan, and Snooki to the Salahis, Willie Geist spares no one as our host of this wild American Freak Show. You’ll laugh out loud while weeping for the future of America.

Frequently Bought Together

American Freak Show: The Completely Fabricated Stories of Our New National Treasures + Loaded!: Become a Millionaire Overnight and Lose 20 Pounds in 2 Weeks, or Your Money Back
Price for both: $17.31

Buy the selected items together


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For his first book Geist, from MSNBC's Way Too Early and Morning Joe, imagines private conversations, e-mail exchanges, Twitter feeds, speeches, and other scenarios involving top newsmakers from our time. Such luminaries as Hillary Clinton, Kate Gosselin, Tiger Woods, Levi Johnston, and "President" Sarah Palin are subjected to Geist's wooden, repetitive send-ups. As Geist tells it, most everyone-including all 20th century presidents-seem to be identical to each other, right down to their speech patterns: they are arrogant, lack self-awareness, and have a penchant for swearing. While they may, indeed, share certain qualities, individual personalities are lost on Geist. Occasional "true story" vignettes about real-life "freaks" feature much fresher and funnier content; while recounting a news story in which a man was arrested for pleasuring himself with a coin-operated car wash vacuum, Geist muses, "One assumes Whitesnake was playing on the radio." Clearly commentary, rather than storytelling, is Geist's strength, so it's a shame that narratives make up the bulk of this effort.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Willie Geist is host of MSNBC's "Way too Early with Willie Geist" and co-host of "Morning Joe" and is a contributor to many NBC News programs. Geist also hosts Zeitgeist, a satirical video blog on MSNBC.com.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Hyperion; First Edition edition (October 12, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1401323944
  • ISBN-13: 978-1401323943
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #718,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Sorry Willie, it just did not make me laugh. Ailene Cusack  |  1 reviewer made a similar statement
Willie Geist has a great sense of humor and a fantastic writing style. NatKat  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Starts Off Good, Then Quickly Winds Down October 20, 2010
Format:Hardcover
Geist's book begins with fictional reporting of President Palin's inaugural ceremony, held at Tampa's Ice Palace Arena during an intermission between WWE matches. The point of selecting that location was to reinforce her status as a Washington outsider. Palin also agreed to keep her message short to allow time for the rematch between Sgt. Slaughter (patriotic American) and the Iron Sheik (foreign terrorist). Palin begins with a shout-out to Arctic Cat (rewarded by free snowmobiles for the Palins) and a plug for Todd's latest DVD ("Wipeout" - snowmachine wrecks), on sale at a card table set up on the concourse.

Then its the welcoming initiation for Tiger woods at the Wilton Norman Chamberlain Sexual Addiction Institute in Southern California for celebrity sex addicts. Other members include Charlie Sheen, Richard Gere, Rev. Ted Haggard, Paris Hilton, etc. The group leader, Dr. Vanden Fanning, keeps emphasizing how their affliction is a disease, not a moral shortcoming. Photos of JFK and WJC adorn the wall.

Then its off to less interesting segments, such as tweets from Lindsay Lohan, supposedly similar in spirit to MLK's writing from a Birmingham jail decades ago (a loud cry for justice), excerpts of suggestions passed on from prior White House occupants to their successors, conversations between Gov. Spitzer and his 'girlfriend,' Levi Johnson's application essay to Berkeley, etc.
Was this review helpful to you?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, but didn't Laugh Out Loud October 19, 2010
By EP
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
First, let me say I am a big fan of the Morning Joe crew and enjoy Willie Geist's humorous telling of News You Can't Use. However, this book was not as funny as I expected. It was mildly amusing but perhaps too over the top - I guess I prefer finding the humor in real (yet insane) political events.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Too much October 16, 2010
By Ty
Format:Hardcover
I really like Willie Geist, I'm an avid fan of Way Too Early and Morning Joe. But I thought this book was a little much. His sense of humor on tv I find pretty intelligent and fun to follow. This book is a collection of made up stories that are characatures of the political and pop culture figures they're based on. Ok, good idea but I just thought most of the stories were too much, meaning he took the recurring points of Sarah Palin, Obama, or GW that we see in media and just blew them out of proportion. I felt like I was just reading stories that went for cheap laughs rather than maybe something more understated and subtle, which I personally find way funnier. Honestly, my favorite part of the book was introduction that included some tidbits about his father's appreciation for pop culture and a nice little bit (a true story according to the book) about the persecuted Blago when the cameras weren't on during a Morning Joe show. The Blago stuff just rang more humorous because it wasn't too crazy but really gave you an idea of how goofy that dude is. Rather than just making fun of Palin being a hockey mom, or Obama being friends with Ayers and an elitist, or GW Bush being dumb. That being said, I still finished the book, enjoyed it though I didn't laugh out loud, and am always looking forward to the pop culture insights on Way Too Early and the back-and-forth of Morning Joe when Geist is around. Thanks for an entertaining read and it was nice to find a book that condenses all the media portrayals into one, though maybe just too much for me.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars funnier than these other idiots make it seem.
Pay no attention to anyone who says differently. This book is HYSTERICAL! From Sarah Palin's Inaugural Address to the Neverland Ranch Garage Sale, this book screams. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cecil Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
I love Willie Geist! So witty, clever and such a great read! I'm looking forward to the next one...and hopefully soon!
Published 11 months ago by Anya
3.0 out of 5 stars An okay book.
But just okay. I agree with another reviewer in that the first two segments were great fun and then the book quickly flattens out. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ernie Wild
1.0 out of 5 stars HS boys' locker room language
I'm a Morning Joe and Willie Geist fan, but the HS boys' locker room language disguised as humor leaves much to be desired. Sorry Willie, it just did not make me laugh.
Published on April 17, 2011 by Ailene Cusack
5.0 out of 5 stars good gift
I purchased this item for my son who thoroughly enjoyed it. He in turn bought one also to give as a gift.
Published on March 12, 2011 by Ren
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Book - A must read!
Willie Geist has a great sense of humor and a fantastic writing style. He sprinkles real stories throughout the book, which are so outlandish you would think that they're just... Read more
Published on February 19, 2011 by NatKat
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for any general lending collection strong in humor and social...
American Freak Show: Completely Fabricated Stories of Our New National Treasure comes from the co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe and offers a fun insider's perspective on today's... Read more
Published on January 16, 2011 by Midwest Book Review
1.0 out of 5 stars Fan of Willie - Thought this was Silly
Easily one of the worst books I've ever read.

The premise of the book is that it's a celebration of America's freaks. Read more
Published on January 7, 2011 by Mike
4.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
You know, I've never laughed reading the Acknowledgments section of a book before. Willie Geist finds genuine humor (as well as Grade-A snark) in so many of our current Passing... Read more
Published on December 12, 2010 by Steven Schwartz
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious
I've been a fan of Geist on MSNBC for some time but this takes it to another level. This book is laugh-out-loud funny.
Published on November 19, 2010 by Gary
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

Topic From this Discussion
Meh
Yes, the book isn't funny. Tasteless, elitist, garbage. Willie is just looking for a pay day.
Oct 15, 2010 by Thomas Paine |  See all 2 posts
Have something you'd like to share about this product?
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions


So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category