How To Spot A Dickhead product reviews

In these dark times of recent political events, natural disasters, and the unfolding threat of extreme climate changes, it is refreshing to read a book that is a sheer delight from start to finish. It is seldom that a text has made me laugh so much. In fact, it is useful that I read it while I was on my own as I might otherwise have caused the perception that I was under the influence of some substance or other. My hilarity ranged from quiet smiles to peals of laughter capable of causing a minor earthquake. We need this kind of humour. It is therapeutic and energising in a way few publications are these days.

The most immediate cause of the humour for me was the simple fact that I know (or once knew) many of the people described in the book. I have worked with people like that, had them as travelling companions, encountered them in supermarkets, and looked after their obnoxious offspring. Their antisocial and entitled attitudes have at times driven me to inappropriate responses, either to friends, or even (if I have been sufficiently provoked) to their faces! It is delightful to see these "dickheads" identified and presented for what they are. I suspect many other readers will have the same reaction as I did.

I liked the way topical references popped up from time to time. Although the authors were careful to avoid identifying certain well-known figures by name, presumably out of fear of having the book banned due to its incendiary content, it is easy to spot who is actually meant! Anyone who follows the current political situation closely will have no problem understanding the subtext. It is telling that one section of the book is singled out for this very attribute. Every section follows the progression of an introductory page (eg Dickheads In Sport) with the title in white uppercase on a grey background. The next pages revert to the usual black-on-white text with an expansion of the topic including examples gleaned from observation and "research". Each segment concludes with a bulleted checklist that provides a useful summary. However, Dickheads in Politics breaks this pattern. Following the white-on-grey title page is a single statement: "C'mon, dear reader ---- we're pretty sure you don't need specialists such as ourselves to tell you how to spot those." Pure genius! The point is made without a single politician being harmed in the process.

In the epilogue, Burnett and Ward provide a timely warning that, no matter how much the world is aware of "dickheadery", it is an attribute that is destined to manifest regularly. They even argue that it is not always a bad thing because dickheads are a source of entertainment. Certainly, if the anecdotes in this book are anything to go by, entertainment is a byproduct of the dickhead legacy. As the authors rightly say (in Latin, to prove that they might just qualify as the Dickheads In The Workplace: Know-it-all Bosses), Stultitia Semper Triumphat. A statement that begs to be added to a White House coat of arms, no doubt.