Joe Queenan

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Joe Queenan (born November 3, 1950) is a contemporary humorist, critic and author from Philadelphia. He has written for numerous publications such as Spy Magazine, Movieline, The Guardian and the New York Times book review. Queenan describes himself as a "Hatchet Man". He has written several books including Balsamic Dreams, a scathing critique of the Baby Boomers, and Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon, a tour of low-brow American Pop Culture.

His latest book, Queenan Country, documents his lifelong fascination with Great Britain. In it, he describes the special relationship Americans have with the British (although he notes that the term "British" does not mean anything today, since it technically refers to people who now only live in Wales and would not consider themselves that).

Queenan's work is sometimes criticized for being gratuitous and mean-spirited. One example can be found in his brief public feud with author A.J. Jacobs, who read all 32 volumes of the Encyclopædia Britannica and wrote about his experiences in a book, The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. In October 2004, Queenan's harsh review of the book in The New York Times led to a brief feud between the two authors.

Joe Queenan lives in Tarrytown, New York. He is married to a British woman and has a son named Gordon and a daughter named Bridget.

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