Sometimes all we have is the courage of our convictions. But not all convictions are created equal. In fact, some are downright delusional. And once a foolish notion sinks its teeth into the famous or the powerful, look out?the impact can have profound consequences for the rest of us. So it?s nothing short of gratifying when our most bullheaded and self-righteous leading lights insist on getting their way only to be proven egregiously embarrassingly wrong. From politicians to pontiffs, movie stars to moguls, and artists to inventors, Certitude presents short biographical sketches of notoriously stubborn individuals who were certain they were right?with laughable, disturbing, and often disastrous results. Earning a place among the greatest historical and contemporary bullheads are: ?Girolamo Savonarola, the Dominican friar who failed to place his own vanities on the bonfire. ?Carry A. Nation, the saloon smasher who didn?t have a temperate bone in her teetotaling body. ?Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes series, who lacked the deductive reasoning he bestowed on his own creation. ?Joseph Stalin, the hard-line Soviet leader who had a soft spot after all. ?Madonna, the queen of pop, who isn?t just a material girl: She?s embraced Kabbalah and the doctrine of reincarnation?in other words, she?ll be back! Informative, irreverent, and brilliantly illustrated by the caricaturist Edward Sorel, Certitude is a book for our time.
It is with utmost certainty, that I , Tim Lasiuta, do hereby declare this book to be the most interesting, most truthful, an d entertaining book I have ever read...next to the Name of the Rose, the Canajan Dictionary, and the Mad Magazine Lone Ranger parody, the Lone Stranger. There, I did it again. Publically stating a strong opinion, then stubbornly sticking to it no matter how much evidence contradicts my opinion is probably the best definition of "Certitude". I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will enjoy this little book. That much is true. Where else can you read about Pope Urban II, Ayn Rand, Madonna, Charlton Heston (pre and post NRA), George W Bush Jr, Sam Goldwyn, John Wayne, Henry Ford, Rudyard Kipling, and Herbert Hoover in their intellectual and opinionated follies? Sure, we can read the opinion pages of the New York Times, or your local paper, but, here, in full color and stupidity, proof that people can live in their own lies! I find myself thinking of circumstances that fit this book well. For example, our esteemed economists declaring the bailouts were `successful' in turning world economies around. Peace in Our Time? What about your local city declaring war on poverty and homelessness, then turning around and closing a shelter for political reasons. In truth, we have a local certitude in Red Deer that I would love to add to this book, but I am sure that every city has a double tongued orator in power. Edward Sorel illustrates the delightful text with charm and imagination. Put this book on your favourite reading spot. Digest it one profile at a time. Then pass it onto your friends. Here's hoping I never become `certitudified'. Tim Lasiuta
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