American Rhapsody

by ESZTERHAS, JOE

• ISBN13: 9780375725548
• ISBN10: 0375725547
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2001-03-13
• Publisher: Vintage

Summary

The setting . . . Washington, Hollywood, and the landscape of the American Republic. The writer . . . Joe Eszterhas, ex-Rolling Stonereporter, National Book Award nominee forCharlie Simpson's Apocalypse,and screenwriter of such blockbusters asBasic InstinctandJagged Edge. The stars . . . Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Al Gore, John McCain, Ken Starr, and Monica Lewinsky. The supporting players . . . Warren Beatty, James Carville, Sharon Stone, Larry Flynt, Vernon Jordan, Linda Tripp, Matt Drudge, and Bob Packwood (with cameos by Richard Nixon and Farrah Fawcett, Eleanor Roosevelt and David Geffen, Robert Evans and Richard Gere). The story . . . The most basic, and basest, in many years -- an up-close and personal look at the people who run our world. A tale filled with humor, tragedy and romance; suspense, absurdity and high drama; and, of course, lots and lots of sex. InAmerican Rhapsody, Eszterhas combines comprehensive research with insight, honesty, and astute observation to reveal ultimate truths. This is a book that flouts virtually every rule, yet joins a rich journalistic tradition distinguished by such writers as Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe. A brilliant, unnerving, hugely entertaining look at our political culture, our heroes and villains,American Rhapsodywill delight some and outrage others, but it will not be ignored. What Joe Eszterhas has produced is a penetrating and devastating panorama of all of us, a fun-house mirror held up to our own morals, hypocrisies and desires. From the Hardcover edition.

Author Biography

Joe Eszterhas was born in Hungary, spent his first six years in Austrian refugee camps, and came to the United States in 1950.  He lives in Point Dume, California, with his wife Naomi and their three children.  He has two grown children from his first marriage.  <br><br>He has been awarded the Emanuel Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award for work dedicated to the memory of the holocaust in Hungary. He has also won awards for attending every one of his son's Little League games and for writing <i>Showgirls</i> (the Hollywood Women's Press Association's Sour Apple Award).<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>

Table of Contents

Author's Note	xi
Act One HEARTBREAK HOTEL
The Whole World Is Watching	3	(12)
Monica, Andy, and Handsome	15	(14)
The Uproar Is Deafening	29	(5)
America Gags, Hollywood Swallows	34	(12)
Hillary Lives, Tammy Wynette Dies	46	(6)
Hillary, Barry, and Nixon	52	(10)
The President Shrieks and Shouts	62	(7)
The War on Acid Reflux	69	(9)
Kenneth W. Starr Confesses	78	(7)
Sharon and Bill	85	(7)
Hillary and Bill	92	(7)
Monica, Andy, and Butt-head	99	(13)
Monica Feels His Pain	112	(5)
Kathleen and the Ratwoman	117	(7)
Nixon Impregnates Monica	124	(13)
Act Two MYSTERY TRAIN
The Ratwoman and the Bag Lady of Sleaze	137	(5)
David Geffen Is Angry	142	(9)
Ross Perot on Drugs	151	(5)
Bubba and the Burrheads	156	(6)
Mark Fuhrman and the Navy Blue Dress	162	(7)
Jay Leno and the Cigar	169	(5)
Billy Can't Help It	174	(7)
Bob Dole's Johnhenry	181	(7)
Billy Likes Doing It	188	(9)
Better Than a Lava Lamp	197	(9)
Bubba in Pig Heaven	206	(17)
The President's Piece of Cake	223	(8)
Bob Packwood's Reptile Tongue	231	(8)
The Scavenger from Cyberspace	239	(10)
Hillary Loves Eleanor	249	(6)
The Sorceress from Hell	255	(14)
Act Three SUSPICIOUS MINDS
The President Is Black	269	(9)
Al Gore and I Want to Be Black	278	(8)
James Carville Kicks Ass	286	(19)
Larry Flynt Saves the Day	305	(10)
The Ace of Spades	315	(14)
Al Gorf Loves Tipper Galore	329	(17)
Hitler's Whore	346	(9)
The Ugliest Story Ever Told	355	(10)
John Wayne McCain Chickens Out	365	(22)
The Man with the Golden Willard	387	(10)
George W. Bush Defines Himself	397	(14)
Billy Comes Out to Play	411	(7)
Hillary Bares All	418	(7)
Willard Comes Clean	425	(8)
The Comeback Kid's Last Comeback	433