As partisan attacks have become increasingly bitter in American politics, contemporary culture has found ways to channel this outrage into the outrageous, responding with comedy and satire from both sides of the political spectrum. Ars Americana, Ars Politica cross-examines American politics, culture, and history by examining Irving Wallace’s The Man, Richard Condon’s Death of a Politician, P.J. O’Rourke’s Parliament of Whores, Warren Beatty’s film Bulworth, and Michael Moore’s Stupid White Men to show how these popular artists have used soap-box partisanship and box-office artertainment to affect history.

Peter Swirski is professor of American literature and culture at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis and former research director at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. He is the author of twelve books, including Ars Americana, Ars Politica: Partisan Expression in Contemporary American Literature and Culture.

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"Ars Americana is fascinating and original - and the subject of political literature is endlessly interesting and important. Written with a certain verve which carries the reader along!" Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States
“A provocative and energetic book that reaches out beyond academia in an attempt to define the nature of American political literature.” Financial Times
“Peter Swirski has presented us with a soundly researched, passionate, and beautifully written work – a Jeremiad about other Jeremiads, and a powerful critique of American society and politics as reflected in American media and popular culture.” Arthur Asa Berger, Professor Emeritus in American Studies, Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, San Francisco State University