Did you know that James Joyce liked to smell his wife'¬?s farts? That some fish communicate by expelling gas? Or that the Pentagon is developing weapons of mass olfactory destruction (WMOD)? That'¬?s just a whiff of what's in store in this breathtaking follow-up to the best-selling fart history, WHO CUT THE CHEESE?In BLAME IT ON THE DOG, eminent fartologist Jim Dawson sniffs out the latest and greatest new items of the past century, from flatulent robot dogs and fart fetishists to poot-proof underwear and anti-stink pills. In fifty breezy chapters, he spills the beans about scientific (wind)breakthroughs, celebrity butt rumblings, and real-life fartistes like Flatulina Fontanelle Boutier, cyberspace entertainer the Queen of Farts, and Mr. Methane, England'¬?s Prince of Poots. Plumbing the nether regions of politics, pop culture, and the (f)arts, this stinker of a bathroom book will leave you gasping for air.
Jim Dawson is a Hollywood, California-based writer who has specialized in American pop culture (especially early rock 'n' roll) and the history of flatulence (three books so far, including his 1999 top-seller, "Who Cut the Cheese? A Cultural History of the Fart"). Mojo magazine called his "What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record?" (1992), co-written with Steve Propes, "one of the most impressive musical reads of the year"; though currently out of print, it continues to be a primary source for rock critics and historians. A native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Dawson dropped out of West Virginia University Law School in the mid-1970s and moved to Los Angeles, where he landed his first major writing job as an editor at Larry Flynt's notorious Hustler magazine. He also wrote a series of articles on early rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll pioneers for the Los Angeles Times, including a front-page story in the Calendar entertainment section on the forgotten tragic figure Ritchie Valens. The piece led directly to Rhino Records reissuing Valens' entire catalog (with Dawson's liner notes) and eventually to the 1987 biopic "LaBamba," which used some of Dawson's research. Since 1983 Dawson has also written liner notes for roughly 150 albums and CDs, including Rhino's prestigious "Central Avenue Sounds" box set celebrating the history of jazz and early R&B in Los Angeles. He is presently working on several books, including a history of 1948 and a horror novel.
