The inimitably witty David Rakoff, New York Times bestselling author of Don�t Get Too Comfortable, defends the commonsensical notion that you should always assume the worst, because you�ll never be disappointed. In this deeply funny (and, no kidding, wise and poignant) book, Rakoff examines the realities of our sunny, gosh� everyone-can-be-a-star contemporary culture and finds that, pretty much as a universal rule, the best is not yet to come, adversity will triumph, justice will not be served, and your dreams won�t come true. The book ranges from the personal to the universal, combining stories from Rakoff�s reporting and accounts of his own experi�ences: the moment when being a tiny child no longer meant adults found him charming but instead meant other children found him a fun target; the perfect late evening in Manhattan when he was young and the city seemed to brim with such pos�sibility that the street shimmered in the moonlight�as he drew closer he realized the streets actually flickered with rats in a feeding frenzy. He also weaves in his usual brand Oscar Wilde�worthy cultural criticism (the tragedy of Hollywood�s Walk of Fame, for instance). Whether he�s lacerating the musical Rent for its cutesy depic�tion of AIDS or dealing with personal tragedy, his sharp obser�vations and humorist�s flair for the absurd will have you positively reveling in the power of negativity.