Damned If I Do

An artist, a cop, a cowboy, several fly fishermen and even a reluctant romance novelist inhabit these revealing and often hilarious stories. An old man ends up in a high-speed chase with the cops after stealing the car that blocks the garbage bin at his apartment building. A stranger gets a job at a sandwich shop and fixes everything in sight: a manual mustard dispenser, a mouthful of crooked teeth, thirty-two parking tickets and a sexual identity problem. Everett skewers race, class, identity, surrealism and much more in this masterful short story collection from a genius of American letters.

We both stood there exhausted, looking at each other like they do in old western films. "I just need to talk to you Archer, please don't throw more stuff at me. I would never hurt you or your family." He glared at me while lifting his arm back up. I glanced to his sides to see what else he had to throw but didn't see anything. Then it sunk in that the only other thing around us both was my car. It was levitating above me as I looked at Archer who was glaring at me again. "Speak then, but when you are finished know that I will destroy your car and you under it." I could feel my eyes stinging as tears began to form. I wasn't ready to die but I was stuck at this point.

A perennial bestseller that begins with a warning: Proceed with caution. This book is only for those with a twisted imagination. Be prepared to leave conventional thought behind and join the ranks of the demented and insane. Previously published as Would You Rather . . .?, with 356,000 copies in print, Damned If You Do . . . is an addictive game in a book that challenges readers to ask—and attempt to answer—more than 400 questions that range from the heinous to the nauseating to the downright disturbing. Each is a field-tested conversation starter guaranteed to provoke ridiculous fun, break the ice at any party, and, like some kind of sick Rorschach test, open a unique window into the minds of friends and family. Some questions delight in their own grossness: Would you rather . . . Eat three earthworms–OR–wear a necklace made of them on your wedding day? Be trapped in an elevator with wet dogs–OR–three fat men with bad breath? Some force you to reveal values: Would you rather . . . Age only from the neck up–OR–age only from the neck down? Be stupid and rich–OR–smart and poor? Some create that squirming sensation: Would you rather . . . Get a bad case of poison ivy way up inside your nose–OR–inside your inner ear? And some are just deliciously absurd. Each question also features related, often off-the-wall information, from quotes to dumb jokes to delightfully odd trivia (326-pound President William Howard Taft once got stuck in the White House bathroom).

This is the revealing, personal story of the man behind the controversial pro - euthanasia movement, told in his own words. Medical doctor, humanist, author and founder/director of Exit International, Philip Nitschke's life has always been in the spotlight. The book spans Philip's early days, from his curious, activist student days in Adelaide, to working with Aboriginal land rights groups in Australia's Far North; to his successful campaign to have euthanasia legalised in Australia and his assistance in four people ending their lives before the law was overturned. It covers the controversy surrounding Philip's work, including the banning in Australia of his international bestselling book The Peaceful Pill, and disturbing reports that many young people overdosed on Nembutal, the drug that Exit International recommends for suicide. Ultimately, Philip believes that the right to one's own death is as fundamental as the right to control one's own life: 'It seems we demand humans to live with indignity, pain and anguish whereas we are kinder to our pets when their suffering becomes too much.'

A JESSE STONE NOVEL She was barely out of her teens, not exactly beautiful, but she’d tried to make the most of her looks. Now, defiled and alone in a seedy beachfront motel, she was dead. And Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone doesn’t even know her name. But when his investigation lures him into the crosshairs of two ruthless pimps, Jesse finds out more about the girl than he ever dreamed. Because in pursuit of justice, if anyone can see the truth in dark, dark places, it’s Jesse Stone.

Damned If I Do is an exceptional new collection of short stories by Percival Everett, author of the highly praised and wickedly funny novel Erasure People are just naturally hopeful, a term my grandfather used to tell me was more than occasionally interchangeable with stupid. A cop, a cowboy, several fly fishermen, and a reluctant romance novelist inhabit these revealing and often hilarious stories. An old man ends up in a high-speed car chase with the cops after stealing the car that blocks the garbage bin at his apartment building. A stranger gets a job at a sandwich shop and fixes everything in sight: a manual mustard dispenser, a mouthful of crooked teeth, thirty-two parking tickets, and a sexual-identity problem. Percival Everett is a master storyteller who ingeniously addresses issues of race and prejudice by simultaneously satirizing and celebrating the human condition.

First published in 1998, Anthony McMahon details the accounts of public agency child welfare dealing abused and neglected children and their families and the pressures on child welfare workers. Opening up the discussion on the ambiguities whilst dealing with balancing child welfare work whilst dealing with the societal pressure of the non-intrusion into family life.