Ben East Books

Category: Humor?

  • Bart Simpson, Foreign Service Officer

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    Ben East
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    I was driving the boys to a wishing well Sunday morning when good fortune came my way: NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me was airing Not My Job. Talented people were supposed to do something without drawing on their talent. The talent in this case was Bill Oakley, who turned a Foreign Service exam cop…

  • Cover Story

    Cover Story

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    Ben East
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    To my colleagues in the foreign affairs community, known and unknown, I regret that the artwork of my novel about your service has misrepresented the truth. “BOO-ring,” LousyBookCoversDotCom hooted. “Showing you just how dramatic diplomacy can be.” What an insult my cover must seem to those of us who serve our country. What an insult to those who’ve worked in…

  • My Speech for the DNC

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    Ben East
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    I wasn’t surprised to learn the DNC would go with President Obama instead of me last night. And in some ways I’m glad they did. It was an awesome speech about our great Republic. Bravo. Had I been given the chance to let my own voice ring out in Philadelphia, this is what I would have…

  • This is what i do when i should be… 2

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    Ben East
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    Welcome to the second installment of “This is what i do when i should be…” This week the author’s family gathers in the kitchen to answer fan mail from Mysuru (Mysore) in India and from both coasts here in the U.S. Mohan describes our podcasting layout while Vikram talks about his diorama of The Indian in the Cupboard. At minute…

  • Nats Park Blues

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    Ben East
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    What’s this discomfort I feel? What is it about watching the Nats play at home this year? Why do I squirm in my chair? Delta. It’s those coveted front-row seats behind home plate, the ones reserved for the rich and well-connected, the splurgers and the lucky. This year, however, gratitude replaces envy. I’d much rather…

  • “Standard” is Lip Service

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    Ben East
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    Dear Courtyard® by Marriott, My wife won’t stop nagging and haranguing about your towel policy. Please, make her stop. Each time we register for a room, we tell you exactly how many occupants there will be. Each time, it is four. And yet each time we show up in our pre-appointed hotel space, there are…

  • The Well-Dressed Reader

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    Ben East
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    Contrary to the rumors being spread by Amazon, no Ben East apparel is currently available at the B.A. East author page. Sorry to disappoint loyal readers. http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00N1YVQOG

  • A Catch-22 for Diplomacy

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    Ben East
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    Two Pumps for the Body Man Set in Saudi Arabia, Two Pumps does for American diplomacy and the War on Terror what Catch-22 did for military logic during the Second World War: The enemy can’t kill us if our institutions kill us first. Jeff Mutton walks the diplomatic beat protecting American officials in Saudi Arabia.…

  • Coming Very Soon

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    Ben East
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    The Second World War II had Catch 22. The Global War on Terror will have:

  • A Confederacy of (Political) Dunces

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    Ben East
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    I enjoy politics. And I enjoy books. So I’ve put the two together and re-cast the 2016 presidential contenders as their literary counterparts. Today, the Republicans. Jeb Before the weekend I had  Bush playing Ignatius J. Reilly. His shuffling campaign had all the promise of a college-educated person pushing a hot dog cart around the Big Easy.…