No Icons Please
Cheeky Portraits from the 20th Century

By Ernie Plock

     Witty, Irreverent Take on The Last Century--and This One

     Reading No Icons Please is like thumbing through snapshots. Each of Ernie Plock's "cheeky portraits" is tiny--a mere poem in length--so the reader can pick and choose what delights her. Plock's smart take on 20th Century personalities and events is a delightful way to spritz up a rainy afternoon.

     Nothing and no one escapes Plock's acerbic wit. He is capable of taking aim at icons. He holds a Ph.D. in International Studies, is the author of two books on German history, and has taught world politics at American University in Washington D.C. He has also worked in radio. Such a varied background contributes to the mini-biographies he selects, the kinds of word-pictures he chooses to focus on. Only someone with a handle on politics, government, and a dozen other assorted interests could paint such an irreverent picture of our culture in a single volume.

     A good chortle at the foibles of celebrities is therapeutic; so is the fun Plock has with political issues, personalities, even decades. No Icons Please is not only impudent but the way it is presented is wholly original.