As Used On the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade

(Paperback)

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Taking up the baton from Michael Moore, the UK's foremost political comedian has written a corruscatingly funny expose of the arms trade Mark Thomas is one of the UK's most effective and best-known political activists, as well as being a highly successful stand-up comedian. His show, The Mark Thomas Product, ran for six highly acclaimed series on Channel Four. Amazingly, this is his first book.As Used On the Famous Nelson Mandela is a deeply funny, deeply disturbing account of Mark's rampage through the arms trade. Under a fairly flimsy disguise and with the use of some worryingly poor accents, Mark set off on a journey of discovery in the company of arms dealers, torture victims, politicians, cops, crusties and geeks. The result is a shockingly entertaining read.Embedded within the sharpness of his humour is the truth of an industry fraught with loopholes, complacency and greed; that allows corrupt regimes to kill, maim and displace, but whose deals are often subsidised by the British taxpayer.Hard-hitting, laugh-out-loud funny and extremely unsettling, As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela is never anything less than compulsive.

Reviews

John Pilger with laughs * Guardian *
Thomas, in essence, is a brilliant investigative journalist disguised as an angry, shouty comedian ... very funny indeed * Daily Telegraph *
A genuine eye-opener * Mail on Sunday *
Courageous book ... A humorous yet heartfelt polemic ... Thomas' revelations are riveting * Independent *
Thomas's investigations are gripping * Daily Telegraph *

Author Bio

Mark Thomas has worked as a comedian for over twenty years. His activist, campaigning brand of comedy has been a thorn in the side of many politicians and corporations. However, recently he has been invited to give evidence at various government select committees. He is one of a limited number of people to be awarded a UN Global Human Rights Defender Award and has also been awarded a Kurdish National Congress Medal of Honour amongst other citations. His three-year campaign to stop the building of the Ilisu dam in Turkey was ultimately successful and saved 78,000 Kurds from being displaced.