New Releases by Al Franken

#1 New York Times Bestseller "Flips the classic born-in-a-shack rise to political office tale on its head. I skipped meals to read this book - also unusual - because every page was funny. It made me deliriously happy." - Louise Erdrich, The New York Times From Senator Al Franken - #1 bestselling author and beloved SNL alum - comes the story of an award-winning comedian who decided to run for office and then discovered why award-winning comedians tend not to do that. This is a book about an unlikely campaign that had an even more improbable ending: the closest outcome in history and an unprecedented eight-month recount saga, which is pretty funny in retrospect. It''s a book about what happens when the nation''s foremost progressive satirist gets a chance to serve in the United States Senate and, defying the low expectations of the pundit class, actually turns out to be good at it. It''s a book about our deeply polarized, frequently depressing, occasionally inspiring political culture, written from inside the belly of the beast. In this candid personal memoir, the honorable gentleman from Minnesota takes his army of loyal fans along with him from Saturday Night Live to the campaign trail, inside the halls of Congress, and behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic and/or hilarious moments of his new career in politics. Has Al Franken become a true Giant of the Senate? Franken asks readers to decide for themselves.

A work of political satire draws on a wide range of resources to expose the mendacity of the Bush administration and its conservative Republican supports.

The dramatic rise and dizzying fall of Al Franken, the first Jewish president of the United States. From the first days of the Franken campaign as the candidate pledges ''to walk the state of New Hampshire, diagonally and then from side to side'' as Al, aided by his covering sex addict and alcoholic deputy campaign manager, stuns the pundits by defeating Al Gore for the democratic nomination, then is swept into office carrying all fifty states. But from that moment of triumph it''s downhill all the way...

The #1 New York Times bestseller by Senator Al Franken, author of Giant of the Senate Al Franken, one of our “savviest satirists” (People), has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of “slander,” “bias,” and even “treason.” He has examined the GOP''s policies of squandering our surplus, ravaging the environment, and alienating the rest of the world. He’s even watched Fox News. A lot. And, in this fair and balanced report, Al bravely and candidly exposes them all for what they are: liars. Lying, lying liars. Al destroys the liberal media bias myth by doing what his targets seem incapable of: getting his facts straight. Using the Right’s own words against them, he takes on the pundits, the politicians, and the issues, in the most talked about book of the year. Timely, provocative, unfailingly honest, and always funny, Lies sticks it to the most right-wing administration in memory, and to the right-wing media hacks who do its bidding.

The classic New York Times bestseller by Senator Al Franken, author of Giant of the Senate Senator Al Franken, or Dr. Al Franken, as he prefers to be called, has written the first truly indispensable book of the new millennium. Filled with wisdom, observations, and practical tips you can put to work right away, Oh, the Things I Know! is a cradle-to-grave guide to living, an easy-to-follow user''s manual for human existence. What does a megasuccess like Al Franken—bestselling author, Emmy-award winning television star, sitting U.S. Senator, and honorary Ph.D.—have to say to ordinary people like you? Well, as Dr. Al himself says, "There''s no point in getting advice from hopeless failures." Join Mr. Franken—sorry, Dr. Franken—on a journey that will take you from your first job ("Oh, Are You Going to Hate Your First Job!"), through the perils and pitfalls of your twenties and thirties ("Oh, the Person of Your Dreams vs. the Person You Can Actually Attract!"), into the joys of marriage and parenthood ("Oh, Just Looking at Your Spouse Will Make Your Skin Crawl!"), all the way to the golden years of senior citizenship ("Oh, the Nursing Home You''ll Wind Up In!"). Don''t travel life''s lonesome highway by yourself. Take Al Franken along, if not as an infallible guide, then at least as a friend who will make you laugh.

Move over P.J. O''Rourke! From Al Franken, America''s premier liberal satirist, comes a hilarious homage to the wonderful, awful, and always absurd American political process that skewers a whole new crop of presidential hopefuls--just in time for the 1996 presidential election. "(Franken is) responsible in part for some of the most brilliant political satire of our time".--John Podhoretz, New York Post.

The ultimate meditation book, not to be grandiose... Take a hilarious, healing journey with Stuart Smalley as he careens down the road to Recovery. For one entire year Stuart recorded an affirmation a day...except when he had taken to his bed (but that''s Okay)...and the result is the most entertaining and indispensable meditation book ever. From program wisdom (Denial Ain''t Just a River in Egypt! December 1) to survival tips (When I Go Home to Visit My Family I Will Stay in a Motel! September 26) to some good sound practical advice (I am entitled to file for an Extension on my Income Taxes! April 15th), Stuart''s affirmations will empower you! Work, Friendship, Love, Spirituality, Codependency, Self-Esteem, Acceptance...Stuart deals with it all. And as you share his ups and downs, his triumphs and shame spirals, you will come to see the ultimate truth of Stuart''s March 21st affirmation: Today I Will Laugh--At Least Once!

Typescript of a Saturday Night Live sketch, written by Al Franken and Tom Davis; aired on the NBC program April 8, 1978. The sketch featured host Michael Palin as Sherlock Holmes, Dan Ackroyd as Dr. Watson, Jane Curtain as Mrs. Hudson, Bill Murray as Inspector LeStrade, Gilda Radner as Sara Hammerkrack, and John Belushi as a Bobbie.