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The Internet Is a Playground: Irreverent Correspondences of an Evil Online Genius by David Thorne

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review.

Hailed as a humorist for the digital age, Australian graphic designer Thorne (www.27bslash6.com) became an internet sensation after posting e-mail correspondences in which he attempted to pay his chiropractic bill with a crude drawing of a spider. Thorne's first book is a laugh-out-loud collection of his e-mail exchanges and satirical essays. As a rule, Thorne says he never initiates an e-mail; he just responds "stupidly" to what he receives. The book includes the biting "Please Design a Logo For Me. With Pie Charts. For Free," considered one of the most-forwarded e-mails of all time, as well as "Missing Missy," in which Thorne designs a poster to help a friend find her missing cat; he has great fun-at his friend's expense. The book reads as if The Onion published Letters From a Nut, but some of Thorn's antics-such as inviting himself to a neighbor's housewarming party-will make readers squirm. Others may offend ("Sponsor a Poor Black Boy"), or shock ("Belly Messages," in which Thorne pretends to be a horny woman on the Internet). Thorne's electronic voice is pointed, effective, and childishly exuberant, a bracing mix. His sense of humor could be called immature, but some people just want to have fun; Thorne does so at everyone else's expense.

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea Handler and Chelsea's Family and Friends

From Publisher-

It's no lie: Chelsea Handler loves to smoke out "dumbassness," the condition people suffer from that allows them to fall prey to her brand of complete and utter nonsense. Friends, family, co-workers—they've all been tricked by Chelsea into believing stories of total foolishness and into behaving like total fools. Luckily, they've lived to tell the tales and, for the very first time, write about them.

**Strong Language**

**Strong Language**

On China by Henry Kissinger

Kirkus Reviews

From the eminent elder statesman, an astute appraisal on Chinese diplomacy from ancient times to thefraught present "strategic trust" with the United States.

Former Secretary of State Kissinger (Crisis : The Anatomy of Two Major Foreign Policy Crises: Based on the Record of Henry Kissinger's Hitherto Secret Telephone Conversations, 2003, etc.) brings his considerable scholarly knowledge and professional expertise to this chronicle of the complicated evolution and precarious future of Chinese diplomacy with the West. Traditionally, Chinese foreign policy as practiced by centuries of emperors was marked by appeasement and generally overwhelming their barbarian enemies with Chinese largesse: the "five baits" included clothing, music, slaves and food to "corrupt" the opponent into seeing things the Chinese way. In their supreme self-containment, the Chinese disdained the importunate advances of the barbarians until the aggressive incursions by the West to force open the barriers to trade in the late 18th century. Foreign threats by the West, Russia and Japan and the series of "unequal treaties" imposed on China impelled it into a period of "self-strengthening" that was finally achieved by the Communist consolidation of power under Mao. From Mao's declaration in 1949 that the Chinese people "have stood up," the Chinese practiced a modern form of pursuing the "psychological advantage," rather than the military (shades of Sun Tzu), in confronting the superpowers. However, a new era commenced under Deng Xiaoping, who was bent on reform and open to travel and new ideas, and normalization of relations with America was finally established under President Carter. Kissinger wisely considers Tiananmen, Taiwan, the elevation of Jiang Zemin and the new era of "cooperative coexistence" maintained by President Hu Jintao. The author warns, however, that despite China's commitment to a "peaceful rise," the U.S.-China relationship will continue to contain an underlying tension.

Sage words and critical perspective lent by a significant participant in historical events.