Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic

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Summary: Mock Cultural Analysis is Funny and True
Review: Accompanied by hilarious illustrations, Food Court Druids, authored by Robert Lanham, is a mock sendup of scientific analysis of dozens upon dozens of grotesque American specimins that we've all seen in shopping malls, bowling alleys, high schools, the business office, etc. Lanham is a self-proclaimed idiosyncrologist who classifies individuals according the principles of idionyncrology. For example, here are some favorite specimens that are featured under Lanham's magnifying glass:

1. Happy Mondays--overbearing, needy bovine office workers with "overly earnest or maternal natures."
2. Office Lichens--needy geeks who are dead weight at the office and make their co-workers work harder to make-up for their sloth and incompetence.
3. TGIFs--emotionally retarded males who read Maxim and impose their obnoxious, adolescent masculinity on everyone in the office.
4. Alpha Weasels--backstabbing employees who act sycophantic to your face.
5. The Lifer--incompetent nincompoops who, inert in their comfort zone, never change jobs.
6. Sigmund Fruits--narcissists who feel compelled to tell you in detail their dreams as if their nocturnal visions are the most special events to be discussed.

The accompanying illustrations seem to capture the very needy faces we've all seen at the office and elsewhere as we try to navigate around the various annoying specimens rendered in this very funny book.

Finally, let me add that the author includes a website so that readers can contribute their own specimens, a list of which is posted on the website.

Rating:
Summary: Funny, dead-on accurate--with great illustrations
Review: I picked up this book on impulse and my enjoyment of it was exceeded only by the fun I had listening to my teen-age nephew howl with laughter and then repeatedly read aloud from it as he recognized friends, neighbors, etc. The illustrations are amazing. The expressions drawn on the faces of the many types of people identified in this book, and the detail showing the incongruities between the facades people create and the real environment in which they operate, are as funny and insightful as the text.

Rating:
Summary: Must have reading.
Review: If you live in Corporate America, this is must have reading. EXTREMELY FUNNY and the pictures are brilliant.

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Summary: Amanda D
Review: The weird, long title of this book struck a chord with me and I had to open it up to see more. It's REALLY funny. It classifies idiosyncratic people like Stretchibitionists (desperate women who stretch provocatively at the gym), Hexpatriates (think Susan Sarandon), Cherohonkees (whites obsessed with Native Americans), and my favorite Soccer Lilies (soccer moms with lesbian haircuts). It reads almost like an art book because there are so many great illustrations. I picked up a couple copies for Xmas gifts. I don't know if I was hip enough for the Hipster handbook, but i definitely recommend this really smart, funny book. The part about the freaks at the office is funny too. "Napoledrones" still cracks me up.

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Summary: A book for the ages
Review: This and the Hipster Handbook (and their mother, The Official Preppy Handbook) are not only hilarious, but important books. For every joke, there is a grain of truth. You have to wonder which characteristics were genuinely observed in these people, and which are made up. But when you start seeing people you know flawlessly described in the book, and it's happened to me a lot with this book, it's apparent that it really is telling the truth. This cataloguing of traits is a great thing, because years from now, when that small subset of people called Soccer Lillies or Leiberals is gone, there will still be this record of them.

Rating:
Summary: A major book
Review: This book is very funny. Robert Lanham has the eye for social types one meets in the world. This book is more expansive than the hipster handbook. The section about "how gay is your dog" is great. The drawings are impressive.