Homo politicus : the strange and barbaric tribes of the beltway / Dana Milbank.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Milbank, Dana.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political culture--Washington (D.C.).

Political culture.

Politicians.

Manners and customs.

Washington (D.C.).

Politicians--Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs.

Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs.

Physical Description:

276 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Doubleday, [2008]

Summary:

Dana Milbank writes The Washington Post's "Washington Sketch" column, a takedown of the ridiculous and the powerful that appears four times a week, and has earned the title of "the most hated man in the White House Press Corps." Here he skewers the peculiar and alien tribal culture of politics, examining the mating rituals of Homo politicus, demonstrating how status is exhibited in the Beltway's rigid caste system, and detailing the ritual sequence of human sacrifice whenever a scandal erupts (the sacrificial victim is not the guiltiest party, but the lowest ranked). He mows down the pompous and the stupid among Democrats, Republicans, reporters and bureaucrats by naming names. Every appalling anecdote in this book is, alas, true.--From publisher description.

Contents:

Status : brahmins and untouchables

Kinship

Hunting and gathering

Mythology and folklore

Norms and deviancy

Shamanism

Aggression

Taboo

Festivals & social rituals

Human sacrifice

Fertility rites & mating behaviors

Cult of the choreutai.

ISBN:

0385517505

9780385517508

OCLC:

124538973