Book description
Who Cut the Cheese?
uses a delightful little fable to encapsulate the fundamental rule of
modern American management and the new economy: "Survive change by
shifting blame."
The fable revolves around two malevolent rats
and two spiteful "Punypeople" who find themselves trapped
together in a maze, fighting over a dwindling supply of constantly
moving cheese. Some characters adapt readily to this treacherous,
shifting environment -- blaming the weak and overpowering the
helpless. Others perish in horror, praying for death. Read this book
and live!
Written for all ages, the story can be understood by even the
youngest reader: The "maze"is a metaphor for life, and the
"cheese" is a metaphor for whatever you desire in life -- be
it worldly goods, spiritual well-being, or unspeakable sexual
encounters too deviant even for the Internet.
The more advanced reader will also understand the secondary message
of the book: "Resistance is futile." As soon as change
happens, we must accept it immediately or suffer the consequences.
This heavy-handed lesson is designed to engender unquestioning
obedience to authority, and makes the book an ideal gift for
subordinates.
Large companies would be well advised to give this book to each and
every one of their employees, especially if they are considering a
restructuring to bolster shareholder value. Extremely short, even
including illustrations, the story takes less than an hour to read,
but its unsettling conclusions on the nature of humanity should last a
lifetime!
Mason Brown, J. D., is currently an associate
editor for NationalLampoon. com, where his chief responsibility is to
inform incredulous callers that the National Lampoon still
really exists, at least as a Web site. He formerly freelanced for such
magazines as Maxim, Details and Schwing! He co-wrote the
Troma Films script "Class of Nuke 'Em High IV: Attack of the
Bikini Subhumanoids." There was also a long period of
unemployment when he spent the better part of each day curled up in a
fetal position moaning softly, but he would prefer to gloss that over.
Mason went to an all-boys elementary school, then became a varsity
wrestler in boarding school in Massachusetts. At Duke University he
joined a fraternity that, according to its creed, was "born of
sturdy manhood and nurtured by resolute men." While at UCLA Law
School, he lived only minutes away from such West Hollywood bars as
The Mother Lode and Spike. He greatly enjoyed the movie
Spartacus, and confesses to having felt as giddy as a little
schoolgirl before seeing Gladiator. Yet he continues to
maintain to his wife and family that he is straight.
