“Rich in dexterous innuendo, laugh-out-loud humor and illuminating fact. It’s compulsively readable.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

16 illustrations

Tom Bonk, college student and casual piano player, never wanted his old man's bar. He wanted an education, a high-paying career, and out of his lower-class Philadelphia neighborhood. Then his brother John, a sergeant in the Marine Corps, is killed in Iraq. His father goes on a two-week bender, leaving Tom the one thing he never wanted, a chance to run the family bar. Seduced by the financial success of his early attempts, he plunges in head first, thinking that he can outsmart the Russian Mob, the cops, a clever local girl, and his own ambition. Along the way, Tom faces realities he previously denied. He earns a degree in the ways of the world ... where the grading scale includes life and death ... where some things are important and others simply aren't worth a damn. PRAISE FOR BONK'S BAR /// "Putkowski brings the gritty, gristly northeast Philadelphia netherworld into delightfully vivid life like no author since roman noir grandmaster David Goodis. In less than 300 action-packed pages ... alternately heart-warming and bone-chilling ... Bonk's Bar shows that there's more to Philadelphia than just cheese steaks and the Rocky franchise." (Peter Chomko, The Temple News) /// "The nuances of the nightlife game seep through every chapter. Putkowski's depictions of the internal struggles and rewards of the bar business, make Bonk's Bar a great read for not only bar owners -- who will recognize every character along the way -- but for anyone who wants to know just how personally affecting this roller coaster of a profession can be." (Chris Ytuarte, Editor-in-Chief, Bar Business Magazine) /// "For those who don't know that graft, corruption, and violence are as American as apple pie and the neighborhood bar, this book will be an awakening. Those who understand such things will feel right at home at Bonk's Bar." (Con Lehane, Author of the Bartender Brian McNulty Mysteries)

What was it like before NFL football? Before Reality TV? Before cake?

Bonk and his mate Hedz are just an ordinary caveman and cavewoman struggling with the everyday existence that comes when one's place in the food chain isn't all that clear. Then a little caveman shows up and convinces them a neighboring tribe is amassing weapons of mass destruction in preparation for an assault on their village, and everything changes...with hilarious results.

What was it like before NFL football? Before Reality TV? Before cake?

Bonk and his mate Hedz are just an ordinary caveman and cavewoman struggling with the everyday existence that comes when one's place in the food chain isn't all that clear. Then a little caveman shows up and convinces them a neighboring tribe is amassing weapons of mass destruction in preparation for an assault on their village, and everything changes...with hilarious results.

Enumerates a series of words and the greater things of which they are a part, such as leaf and tree, elbow and arm, candle and cake, and tail and kite.

From the best-selling authors of "How to Poo at Work" and "How to Bonk at Work" comes the follow-up that everyone's been waiting for: "How to Bonk in Public" will help you get busy wherever you are! You know the feeling - a bit bored at the bus stop and need something to occupy your time for ten minutes, or you find the latest exhibition of blobby sculptures at the local art gallery dreadfully dull. Well worry no more about what to do, for "How to Bonk in Public" will liberate your mind, body and soul with more than 50 ways to get busy outdoors and the solutions to more than 50 problems you may encounter. Too many people around? No problem, this book's full of ideas to get you far from the madding crowd. Broad daylight? Don't panic, you will find many ways to avoid lines of sight. Next time you hear someone say 'smash it' at a football match you'll know exactly what to do and where to go!

Shortlisted for the 2006 Ottawa Book Awards

Bonk on the Head is the fictional account of a young man's strange and gruelling journey through military indoctrination, and the strange and gruelling family life that drives him to it. Author John-James Ford, himself a graduate of Royal Military College, presents a spirited coming-of-age novel that is at once both gripping and hilarious. The unforgettable Verbal Kempt, boy-man, flits between deranged assaults on the senses and sensory deprivation, between memory and amnesia, to define and redefine his own understanding of freedom and personality. His dilemmas take the form of private wars inside and outside the skull--embroiling family, institutions, landscape and language.

• ISBN13: 9781416961598
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Aspiring young detectives match wits with three courageous kids and their dog as they hunt for clues in their search for the elusive source of scary night noises.