‘Twas the Night Before Christmas 21st Century Edition

Satirists Bruce Kluger and David Slavin take an outrageous swing at the Christmas season, updating Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem with all the shock, awe, and corporate hijinks from today’s headlines.

In Kluger and Slavin’s rendition, Christmas is no longer a time of sparkling snow globes and neighborly good will, but rather a celebration of profits, bonuses, and cutthroat competition–complete with disgruntled elves, outsourced Santas, union conflicts, Twittered conspiracies, randy reindeer, media hysteria, factory relocations, toxic merchandise, and a giant leveraged buyout that rocks the world from pole to pole. 

Packing their verse with hilariously spun rhymes ("The workers grew grim, as they churlishly chored / while Santa grew haplessly, craplessly bored") and even funnier illustrations (picture Santa jumping on Oprah’s couch and Mrs. Claus in a racy Maxim cover photo), Kluger and Slavin spike the holiday eggnog with smart and saucy sass–not to mention loads of laughs. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas 21st Century Edition, makes the perfect stocking stuffer or lighthearted gift.

About the Author

Bruce Kluger and David Slavin began writing and producing satire for National Public Radio's All Things Considered in 2002. Their cultural and political commentary has appeared in countless publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and dozens of other newspapers. Their work has also been featured prominently on the Huffington Post and Salon.com, which ran their acclaimed "Memo to George" series during the Bush II administration. Their satirical children's biography, Young Dick Cheney: Great American (AlterNet Books), was published in 2008. In 2009, Bruce coauthored Dear President Obama: Letters of Hope from Children Across America (Beckham Publications) and David contributed to the special 35th anniversary rerelease of Marlo Thomas's landmark children's book, Free to Be . . . You and Me (Running Press Kids). Bruce and David live one block from each other in New York City.

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