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Product Description
This book was conceived by Jonathan Safran Foer, Dave Eggers, Nicole Krauss, and the staff of McSweeney's as a way to bring over a hundred authors together to promote progressive causes in the November 2004 election. An imagining of what a dictionary might look like about thirty years hence, when the world's problems are solved and our current president is a distant memory, the book is by turns funny, outraged, utopian, and dyspeptic. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to a mix of political organizations to support progressive candidates in the upcoming elections.
Over 150 writers contributed to the book, including: Stephen King, Robert Olen Butler, Glen David Gold, Richard Powers, Susan Straight, Sarah Vowell, Billy Collins, C.K. Williams, Colson Whitehead, Donald Antrim, Jonathan Franzen, Edwidge Danticat, Edward Hirsch, Joyce Carol Oates, Katha Pollitt, Padgett Powell, Paul Auster, Anthony Swofford, Julia Alvarez, Susan Choi, Jim Shepard, Aimee Bender, and Art Spiegelman.
Released in partnership with Barsuk Records, the book will include a CD compilation, with exclusive songs by the best musicians working. Among them: David Byrne, R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, Flaming Lips, Tom Waits, Bright Eyes, They Might Be Giants, Nada Surf, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Funny., 2008-06-30
The Future Dictionary is worth every penny and it is not that expensive. Also, it comes with a bonus CD that has some good bands and good tracks on it.
The definitions range from silly, serious, sad, thoughtful, and even just mean at times, but always funny and insightful.
Hundreds of writers and artists submitted work to put this book together and if you are a fan of McSweeneys, Dave Eggars, David Sedaris, Jonathan Safran Foer, Kurt Vonnegut, or any other great writer from this era, this is a book that you must have.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
 Disappointing and Somewhat Outdated, 2008-04-07
It's hard for me to write a fair review of this book for a number of reasons. When I ordered it from the McSweeney's website, it was as a part of their Cheapo Bundle, and the brief description mentioned absolutely nothing about politics (there was also no easily accessible link to the book's own web page). The book was said to contain "over 1,000 definitions by almost 200 authors, including Stephen King, Jonathan Safran Foer, Kurt Vonnegut... Jonathan Franzen, Joyce Carol Oates... Art Spiegelman," etc., so I figured this was a "dictionary" of words created in the novels and stories of these authors, collected for the first time in one volume. I'm not mad that the volume turned out to be a political screed, since I only paid $4.50 for it (they don't call it the Cheapo Bundle for nothing), but I am disappointed.
The main problem with this book is that it isn't particularly funny. It seems to have been cobbled together in the last days before the 2004 election in an effort to gain more liberal votes, and I can't help but wonder if there wasn't too much of a rush. For a "future" dictionary of our country, many of the references are already well-outdated (though some have admittedly gained even more ground over the last four years). Most of the humor comes off as cynical or mean, sometimes both. Humorists like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert can pull this off, but that's because they're actually funny. Most of the people involved in this project are the writers of serious fiction, and aren't too good with pithy humor.
I did, however, laugh at the definition of "misteak."
The music CD that came with the book is decent, if depressing. Most of the tracks are anti-war songs.
If you're looking for something to inflame your anger towards the Bush Administration, this is the book for you. If you're looking for an intellectual approach to current political issues, give it a pass.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Topical, 2008-01-25
The thing I enjoyed the most about this book were the new writers I had never heard let alone read before. I may not agreed with all of there opinions I did joy the writing. At times I felt that it was over-politicized and close minded but over all had a very important message.
12 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
great book, lovely CD, fantastic cause, 2004-10-07
Not only did I enjoy this book both for straight-out reading as well as random dipping, but I've bought it for three different friends AND I've purchased more copies as insurance for the looming gift-giving season. It really is the perfect book for every shelf.
18 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
Hopeful, 2004-10-04
This book is a positive contribution to our current state of disunion in the United States. Yes, there are entries that look back at the Shrub administration with contempt, but others look at a positive future where we overcame the myopia, nepotism, and greed of the bushies. It is positive in itself that the future is there to write the entries. I would have given it 4 stars, but a reviewer that obviously did not read it compared it to Ann Coulter and only gave it one star. I am canceling out that vote. Thanks are owed to Foer, Eggers, et al. for their quality writing, work, and discerning eyes.
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