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Dave Eggers' The Wild Things is available for preorder, in regular hardcover and
limited-edition fur-covered.

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P H I L A D E L P H I A : I N T O   T H E   M A W . BY NEAL POLLACK - - - - As the Democratic National Convention begins in Los Angeles, we at McSweeney's have decided to pay attention to a matter of important national interest that has been more or less, though not entirely, ignored by the major media. Since the November 1999 WTO riots in Seattle, various local police departments and an amorphous culture of protesters have been at war, with no definite result as yet. We believe that these battles between police and protesters are events of historical significance that test the very limits of our society's tolerance for dissent. These are serious times, and these protests will eventually have serious consequences. Recently, Neal Pollack went to Philadelphia to cover the Republican National Convention and the protests surrounding it, on assignment from a major glossy American magazine. He wrote a very long story of which he was quite proud. For various reasons, none of which were unreasonable, the magazine rejected his piece. However, at McSweeney's, we are not concerned about such things as timeliness, and are certainly not concerned with length. Therefore, we will present Pollack's piece nearly in full, and with great pride. Pollack's work on this site, and in his new book The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, are only a part of his large body of work. Pollack has been reporting on urban-affairs issues for many years in publications like the Chicago Reader, Salon, The New Republic, and The New York Times Magazine. He is a real person, and this piece, which will be presented in eight or so installments, is also real. The events described within really happened, and no names have been changed. Again, they are the real experiences of a real person. Now, please, no more explanations. We hope you enjoy: - - - - PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART ONE PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART TWO PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART THREE PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART FOUR PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART FIVE PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART SIX PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART SEVEN PHILADELPHIA: INTO THE MAW, PART EIGHT     - - - -

- - - - MAIN PAGE | ARCHIVES Memories of Amanda Davis Red dot denotes content that is new today. Black dot denotes newish content. McSWEENEY'S STORE SUBSCRIBE TO: McSWEENEY'S THE BELIEVER WHOLPHIN FUTURE McSWEENEY'S BOOKS THE AMANDA DAVIS HIGHWIRE FICTION AWARD INVITE A McSWEENEY'S AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN YOUR TOWN OR COLLEGE THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING McSWEENEY'S MONTHLY MAILING LIST BOOKSTORES WITH A McSWEENEY'S DISPLAY McSWEENEY'S-RELATED EVENTS AND VARIOUS TOUR DATES ORDER INQUIRIES AND ADDRESS CHANGES SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: FOR BOOKS FOR THE QUARTERLY FOR THE WEBSITE FOR WHOLPHIN McSWEENEY'S INTERNSHIPS CONTACT US - - - - LETTERS TO McSWEENEY'S LISTS McSWEENEY'S PREDICTS McSWEENEY'S RECOMMENDS NEW WHOLPHIN FILM DAN LIEBERT, VERBAL CARTOONIST TEDDY WAYNE'S UNPOPULAR PROVERBS REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD DISPATCHES FROM MANILA DISPATCHES FROM MOSCOW AND HERE'S THE KICKER: MIKE SACKS'S CONVERSATIONS WITH HUMOR WRITERS SARAH WALKER SHOWS YOU HOW DISPATCHES FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER WHO IS TRYING TO GROW A MUSTACHE DISPATCHES FROM A HANGDOG BANKRUPT DISPATCHES FROM THE ANACOSTIA DISPATCHES FROM THE CAPITAL DISPATCHES FROM INDIA THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WITH ERIC FEEZELL BEN GREENMAN'S FAKE CELEBRITY MUSICALS SEAN MICHAELS LISTENS TO MUSIC IN MONTREAL SHORT IMAGINED MONOLOGUES KIDS' LETTERS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA STAINED TEETH: A COLUMN ABOUT WINE DISPATCHES FROM THE WINGS AT THE BALLET YOUR MONEY, YOUR JOB ... YOUR LIFE, WITH ALISON ROSEN KEVIN DOLGIN TELLS YOU ABOUT PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IN EUROPE LAWRENCE WESCHLER'S EVERYTHING THAT RISES: A BOOK OF CONVERGENCES THE CONVERGENCES CONTEST ABOUT THE CONVALESCENT ABOUT GOD SAYS NO ABOUT UNDERGROUND AMERICA ABOUT THANKS AND HAVE FUN RUNNING THE COUNTRY LETTERS FROM AN EARTH BALL TO, OR CONCERNING, SEAN HANNITY DISPATCHES FROM ADJUNCT FACULTY AT A LARGE STATE UNIVERSITY E-MAILS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FLAG-FOOTBALL TEAM ADVICE FROM A PERSON WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL JOBS FLIP: A COLUMN ABOUT SKATEBOARDING OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN MICHAEL IAN BLACK IS A VERY FAMOUS CELEBRITY DAN KENNEDY SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS WITH PAPER STEPHEN ELLIOTT'S POKER REPORT - - - - ADDITIONAL MATERIAL