This is a short book about madness – the madness of the world. Every person, every city, every nation, every continent and the planet Earth itself is steadily going insane. What are the causes? Can anything be done? Can the process be arrested and even reversed? This book concentrates on the United Kingdom as one of the most deranged countries in this Mad World, but a host of other nations would have served just as well. The major causes of insanity are: 1) religion 2) nationalism 3) corporations 4) capitalism 5) the family. It's time to put the world on the psychiatrist's couch and listen to its tale of fear, alienation, angst, inauthenticity, disenchantment, over-expectation, constant disappointment and thwarted dreams. Never has so much been promised to the ordinary man and woman and so little delivered.

The behind-the-scenes story of the making of the iconic movie Network, which transformed the way we think about television and the way television thinks about us "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Those words, spoken by an unhinged anchorman named Howard Beale, "the mad prophet of the airwaves," took America by storm in 1976, when Network became a sensation. With a superb cast (including Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall) directed by Sidney Lumet, the film won four Academy Awards and indelibly shaped how we think about corporate and media power. In Mad As Hell, Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times recounts the surprising and dramatic story of how Network made it to the screen. Such a movie rarely gets made any more—one man's vision of the world, independent of studio testing or market research. And that man was Paddy Chayefsky, the tough, driven, Oscar-winning screenwriter whose vision—outlandish for its time—is all too real today. Itzkoff uses interviews with the cast and crew, as well as Chayefsky's notes, letters, and drafts to re-create the action in front of and behind the camera at a time of swirling cultural turmoil. The result is a riveting account that enriches our appreciation of this prophetic and still-startling film. Itzkoff also speaks with today's leading broadcasters and filmmakers to assess Network's lasting impact on television and popular culture. They testify to the enduring genius of Paddy Chayefsky, who foresaw the future and whose life offers an unforgettable lesson about the true cost of self-expression.

This behind-the-scenes look at the making of the iconic 1976 movie features interviews with cast and crew, notes from the screenwriter and a discussion of the film's lasting impact on broadcast television and pop culture. 40,000 first printing.

“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” The words of Howard Beale, the fictional anchorman in 1976’s hit film Network, struck a chord with a generation of Americans. In this colourful new history, Dominic Sandbrook ranges seamlessly over the political, economic, and cultural high (and low) points of American life in the 1970s, exploring the roots of the fears, resentments, cravings, and disappointments we know so well today. From Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell, he shows how the 1970s saw the emergence of a new right-wing populism, setting the stage for the bitter partisanship and near-total cynicism of our modern political landscape.

They are the cheated, they are the crushed, they are the cursed. They pray for the Day of the Locust when the Swarm will deliver them. The sirens are sounding. The locusts are coming. Where will you hide? The world is full of the cheated. That's why the world is about to blow up. Nearly everyone belongs to the cheated. Who's doing the cheating? It's the 1%. Why do the 99% endure it? They always have. That's the great mystery. Get out of the way of the Swarm. No one gets out of this alive. When the Swarm arrives, judgment is delivered and the sentence carried out. The locusts are heading to Hollywood to destroy it. That's where the myths are created that keep the 1% in power. That's the laboratory of fraud, the factory of illusions. The locusts will turn it into a Valley of Ashes. Tinseltown will be set on fire. They're gonna burn it down. Shall we all cheer? Locusts start off as individuals before they join the collective. That's when they become powerful, an unstoppable force of nature. Hollywood is the home of liberalism, but is it liberal at all? Isn't it devoted to a narcissistic, super-rich cabal trying to get inside everyone's heads and convert them to the strange religion of celebrity worship? The Beatles said they were more famous than Jesus Christ. Celebrities have displaced the old gods and become the new gods, just as the Olympians pushed the Titans off Mount Olympus and became the new rulers of the world. Come inside and explore the strangest of worlds – the one where you join with the locusts to devour Tinseltown, and, with hope in your heart and a smile on your face, march through the Valley of Ashes.

This book has more wisdom in it than Oprah, Dr. Phil and a bookstore combined. It will answer life-changing questions, such as: what do men look for in women? Is it true that you have given up on men because all the good ones are taken, or because all men cheat, are broke, or are in jail? If one of these thoughts has flickered through your thoughts, then this book is for you. Whining to a girlfriend or asking for advice is like the blind leading the blind. I would like you to ask yourself serious questions, like: will I be with someone special this coming holiday? For Valentines Day? On the next rainy night, or for my next birthday or special occasion? If the answer is no, ask yourself why? Whether you are single or married, this is a guide to help you identify common mistakes and poor choices that cause bad relationships, and to show you what you can do to make your future relationships fantastic. We will explore some very hurtful and painful things that real people have done, things that have affected peoples lives and can never be undone. Inside you will find everything you need to know, so these mistakes and poor choices will never, ever happen again. I guarantee if you follow these steps, great things will happen and you will live a long and happy life with someone who loves you just as much as you love them.