What do the rising popularity of competitive eating events and Joey Chestnut say about politics, patriotism, and American democracy? This book attempts to respond to these questions. The author argues that American democracy has become a deranged entertainment regime. Analyzing Joey Chestnut's rise provides a way to understand this transformation beyond the standard corporate-oligarchic critique. Approaching politics via Chestnut leads to a new way of understanding politics and opens paths for agency. You’ve got to read this. Now. Be enlightened AND entertained. When you’re finished, you won’t forget you read this, even if you want to. But do bring a barf bag, be brave, and do stick with it through the end. Because after you’ve read the last two pages, you enter the deeper waters and darker purposes of what the author was really up to. ~ Anonymous