Caligula for President: Better American Living Through Tyranny (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Cast back to the fall of Rome: a political dynasty pillages the economy, enslaves the common folks, and plays "war" with real soldiers. Don't times like these, Cintra Wilson hilariously asks, demand a leader like Caligula for President?”   —Vanity Fair

"Cintra Wilson [is] the thinking woman’s David Foster Wallace."—New York Times Book Review

"The Dorothy Parker of the Cyber Age." —San Francisco Chronicle

"Wilson cranks out the zingers." —People

"Hilarious." —Harper's Bazaar

"A blazing satirist." —Booklist

Product Description

In this inventive and biting satire, acclaimed novelist and cultural critic Cintra Wilson reimagines America’s Manifest Destiny as helmed by Caligula, the only leader in world history capable of turning our floundering democracy into a fully functioning—and totally fun—tyranny, both here and abroad. With Caligula running the show, America will finally be able to achieve what the founding fathers really wanted, but never had the nerve to admit. Like, how to:

-Achieve the guilt-free looting of natural resources for the sake of immediate gratification;

-Declare war on abstract concepts (drugs, terror, the ocean) for the sake of imperial expansion;

-Utilize propaganda, psychological operations, and other prisoner-of-war techniques to create a sense of learned helplessness in the citizenry, gain their utterly terrified trust and obedience—and leave them begging for more;

-Rape, pillage, and loot—both here and abroad—with impunity 

Wilson also traces the historical arc of Caligula’s life and not-so-hard times, from his privileged childhood in Syria to his ascent to power to his eventual takedown by the hands of an angry populace, to point out the unsettling parallels between his own extravagant reign and a certain administration, which helped usher in a new golden age of unlimited executive power.  Part political parable, part cautionary tale, Caligula for President is an ingenious and hilarious send-up of the current state of our Union by one of this generation’s sharpest satirists.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (October 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596915889
• ISBN-13: 978-1596915886
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #751,216 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better Living Through Tyranny, December 16, 2008

By	lochnessa7 "lochnessa7" (Half Hollow Hills, NY) - See all my reviews

This was one of those books that, once I saw the title, I just *had* to read it. Although it didn't turn out to be a surrealist alternate-future metafiction, like the Thursday Next stories, which was what I was expecting, I wasn't disappointed.

There's no plot, the only character is Caligula, and the bulk of the book is his argument for the inevitability and superiority of heaven-sanctioned totalitarian rule to democracy. This Caligula argues that he's the best choice for America, not because he will refrain from gross abuses of power, but because he admits freely that he will immediately begin to remove all freedoms. At least we'd know what we were getting.

Under the Caligula administration, he would be the only recognized god, thereby eliminating all current religous strife. He argues that it is phyisically impossible for a ruler with any amount of power to practice self-restraint, and cites a staggering number of examples, both ancient and recent.

Although at times Caligula for President reads less like tongue-in-cheek humor than a diatribe of Cintra Wilson's political views and displeasure with the Bush administration, the majority is spot-on, satirical and very funny. Forget the War on Terror, Caligula fought the ocean. Was it really madness to promote a horse to a Senatorial seat? Or was it a stroke of preemptive genius to keep would-be usurpers out? Caligula for President has some brilliant insights into modern government and economics drawn from one of history's most infamous despots. And that's either really funny or really sad.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Wilson at her best, May 23, 2009

By	Stacy Holmstedt (Mesa, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"A Massive Swelling" was full of snarky fun and "Colors Insulting to Nature" had a memorable message about tempering dreams with reality. "Caligula for President" is considerably drier than her previous works, fairly disjointed and already a little outdated (Dana Perino smack? Really?). Maybe I've read too much Dregulator, but Caligula-as-narrator sounds exactly like Cintra-as-narrator, which makes for a jarring experience when (s)he suddenly references ancient Roman relatives.

There are still some laugh-out-loud moments and deliciously bitchy morsels (mostly about -- surprise -- entertainment celebrities, Wilson's strength), and it's probably a decent read for Chomsky fans and others who like their political novels heavy and dark.

5.0 out of 5 stars jrlaw, September 10, 2009

By	Jon Rankin "jrlaw" (tiburon ca) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

a true sage of the ages

a bit more eclectic than her previous books

she has her finger on the pulse of reality---the problem is that no one is listening

should be required reading for all poli sci 101 students