The Joker's Wild

Book excerpt: Greg Palast, one of today's most celebrated (and vilified) investigative journalists, creates 54 cards to identify the industry moguls, corrupt politicos, and crackpot ideologues who stole the 2000 presidential election. Not just another regime change playing cards knock-off, The Joker's Wild is a card game for up to four players that actually lets you experience all the piety-spouting, grammar-butchering, flight-suit-donning thrills of being -Commander-in-Chief. With full-color original art throughout, The Joker's Wild features a sprawling cast of shady characters identified by Palast in award-winning investigative reports. In addition to the usual suspects, such as Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris, the playing cards profile global cabals like the Carlysle Group and the WTO; sleazy wheeler-dealers, including Salim bin Laden and Adnan Kashoggi; masters of the media such as Rupert Murdoch and Clear Channel; and more. But the cards are only half the fun of The Joker's Wild. In addition, players get a poster-sized snakes-and-ladders-style playing board on which all twisted roads lead to the House of Cards (a.k.a., the White House). Both the cards and the game board graphics are keyed to an in-depth annotation explaining how each character profiled fits into the big picture. With The Joker's Wild, you don't get points for being smart or well-informed. And you better not play fair if you want to win. Because, in this game, no move is -illegal, and the rules are always open to interpretation. Greg Palast was born and raised in Los Angeles and studied economics under Milton Friedman. Upon graduating, he put his knowledge to work as a corporate investigator, taking down the hazardous and corrupt LILCO power plant and representing labor unions against the corporations that would destroy them. Greg is author of the New York Times bestseller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, a book Michael Moore has called "courageous reporting."