Friday Freebie: Pax Americana by Kurt Baumeister

Congratulations to Cheryl Riniker, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie contest: The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison.

This week’s contest is for Pax Americana by Kurt Baumeister. I have a trade paperback copy of the book to put in the hands of one lucky reader. Caroline Leavitt, author of Cruel Beautiful World, says of the book: “The thriller’s been reinvented, smartened up, and rendered blazingly funny in Kurt Baumeister’s wild, raucous ride of a novel.” Keep scrolling for more information on the book and how to enter the contest...

2034: Evangelical secret agents, fast food moguls, the voice of God in computer software, violence in the Bermuda Triangle! George W. Bush’s foreign policy vindicated by a quick victory in Iraq, lucrative invasions of Egypt and Syria followed, bringing unparalleled prosperity to America and setting off thirty years of right-wing rule. But when a war in Iran goes bad—and the resulting cover-up goes worse—the Democrats reclaim the presidency. This is the time of Pax Americana and its zealous anti-hero, government agent Tuck Squires. Reading the ironic silences between the lines of the thriller, and roaring like a jet engine, Pax Americana is a sacrilegious, conspiratorial monster; like a literary dogfight between Ian Fleming and Robert Anton Wilson, loaded with prophecy, Baumeister’s debut is an exorcism and an antidote for our era.

For even more on the book, including its opening lines, check out the Fresh Ink column for this month.

If you’d like a chance at winning Pax Americana, simply e-mail your name and mailing address to

thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line. Please include your mailing address in the body of the e-mail. One entry per person, please (or, two if you share the post—see below). Despite its name, the Friday Freebie remains open to entries until midnight on Feb. 6 at which time I’ll draw the winning names. I’ll announce the lucky reader on Feb. 7. If you’d like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week newsletter, simply add the words “Sign me up for the newsletter” in the body of your email. Your e-mail address and other personal information will never be sold or given to a third party (except in those instances where the publisher requires a mailing address for sending Friday Freebie winners copies of the book). P.S. Since I’m downsizing my own book collection, I’ll occasionally toss an extra book into package. If you aren’t interested in reading the extra “Freebie,” please consider donating it to your local little free library.

Want to double your odds of winning? Get an extra entry in the contest by posting a link to this webpage on your blog, your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter. Once you’ve done any of those things, send me an additional e-mail saying “I’ve shared” and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.