Right after Thanksgiving, I stumbled onto early word that former Gov. Jesse Ventura had a new book in the works.
Even before the big MinnPost scoop was followed up by the mainstream media, I got a promise from the small New York publishing house that I’d get one of the first advance reading copies of the tome: “Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me!” which Ventura has written with Dick Russell.
Unfortunately, my copy must have been delayed in the mail, because the local newspapers had stories about the book a week ago. I wondered if the publisher didn’t believe there’s really a town called White Bear Lake.
On Monday, though, my copy arrived in a battered envelope.
By then, however, the Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune already had covered the big stuff.
In his book, though, Ventura explains again what he doesn’t like about the media. Among his examples, Ventura recounts his much-recounted 1999 appearance on David Letterman’s show, when he joked that there’s no rhyme or reason to St. Paul’s street system and implied that well-oiled Irishmen might be responsible.
He writes: “Here’s what the Minnesota media did with that: They went out until they found an Irishman who was angered and offended. I heard that they went through about ten people first, who all laughed and said, ‘Of course, who cares, that’s what the Irish are known for.’ That last angry Irishman was the one who got on TV.
“I was greeted upon returning home by hordes of reporters at the airport, demanding an apology to the Irish community. At that point, I realized, from now on, I only tell Slovak jokes. See, if you tell them you’re that nationality, then you’re off the hook because you’re talking about yourself.”
The book comes out in bookstores in April.
In the meantime, I’ve got a copy I’m willing to give away. So here’s the challenge:
Add a comment below about why you deserve this copy, and we’ll have a panel of experts choose a winning plea. Best response gets the book. (I wish I had more copies, so the worst response could get two.) The deadline is next Wednesday.
I voted for Jesse in ’98 when I was a freshman at UMD and 10 years later I still think he’d make a better Governor than most of the clowns we have to choose from!
I would like the book, because my computer screen is a little low, and the book would help boost it up to the right ergonomic level.
I suffered through my first experience of reading MinnPost. I’m sure Governor Ventura’s book has to be better.