New Satire and Political Humor Book Leaves no Politician Behind

A former editor at The New York Times turns to humor and discovers that making up the news is more fun than the real thing. The resultant mayhem runs the gamut from President Bush's model airplane obsession to John Kerry's telepathic parrot stalking Karl Rove' brain.

DOYLESTOWN, PA February 3, 2005 -- Is That True or Did You Make It Up? Cosmic Ruminations from Bill Stockton's Satirium.com has been published by iUniverse, Inc. Is That True or Did You Make It Up? is a hilarious collection of "news" from Satirium, a popular Web site devoted to cutting-edge satire and humor.

"I was an an editor at The New York Times for almost two decades, and I spent just about every working moment thinking about how to cover the news," author Bill Stockton said. "Eventually, this cartoon light bulb went on over my head. I realized it would be easier and much more fun to just make up the news."

Is That True or Did You Make It Up? features zany social, cultural and political criticism from some of the Web site's staff members. Miss Trudy Patience, a breathless critic, writes about how she almost drowned at a New York night club located inside a car wash. Floyd Hake, an octogenarian dairy farmer, recounts how his trendy neighbors dragged him to see Fahrenheit 9/11. Is That True or Did You Make It Up? also includes several witty and trenchant essays written in an anonymous first person voice widely believed to be that of Stockton himself.

Once he began making up news and op-ed articles -- and using humor and satire as his tools -- Stockton was frequently asked, "Is that true or did you make it up?" "I always answer, 'Of course it's true. How could you make up something like that?'"

Among the journalistic "scoops" in Is That True or Did You Make It Up?:
- An investigative project discovered the real reason behind President Bush's frequent Texas ranch vacations: He is obsessed with secretly building a giant model airplane made entirely of toothpicks.
- Satirium was the first to report that John Kerry had hired a telepathic parrot to eavesdrop on the Republican leadership. The parrot caused a sensation inside the Beltway when it reported that President Bush fell off of Vice President Cheney's knee while meeting with the 9/11 Commission in the Oval Office.
- Raids by federal officials on equine veterinary hospitals across the country to seize radioactive horse manure because of concern it might be used in a terrorist "dirty bomb."
   
Advance reviewers have heaped praise on Is That True or Did You Make It Up? Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, said, "My fondest hope is that this book will bring an end to war, pestilence, and famine."

Former President Bill Clinton said, "His first name is Bill. That should count for something."

Readers who venture into the pages of Is That True or Did You Make It Up? will be rewarded with plenty of laughs. In fact, readers are warned that "this book could cause you to shriek helplessly and roll around on the floor."

About Bill Stockton
Bill Stockton is a journalist and writer who was a correspondent for many years at The Associated Press and an editor at The New York Times, including Editor of Science Times and the Business and Financial Editor. He was also a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University. He has written several books and enough magazine and newspaper articles to line the bottoms of the world's bird cages for years to come -- unless they're already engaged clogging up landfills.

Is That True or Did You Make It Up? Cosmic Ruminations from Bill Stockton's Satirium.com ISBN : 0-595-33165-3 was published by iUniverse at $18.95. It can be ordered at www.iuniverse.com or at www.satirium.com It is also available at major online booksellers, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Million.

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