Dogfight at the Pentagon

by The Wall Street Journal

One of the Wall Street Journal’s most popular features for more than seventy years, the daily A-hed column—named for a headline that looked like a letter A—has diverted readers from the more glum news of war, economic woe, natural disasters, and manmade malfeasance. Covering a wide range of lunacy and the unusual from across the nation and the world, the A-hed continues to enchant longtime readers.

Now, the best A-hed stories from recent years have been bundled into this delightful collection. There are romantic tales, including the Japanese “infidelity phone” (it keeps trysts secret) and the story of “wingmen” and “wingwomen” who escort wallflowers to nightspots and maneuver them into the arms of prospective catches. Lovers of dogs, cats, and fish will learn how a Marine Corps bulldog got promoted to sergeant, how a grumpy cat acquired a Hollywood agent, and will be left wondering if a 63-pound carp named Benson died naturally in England or was the victim of foul play. From pantyhose (or mantyhose) for men to a campaign to recruit youthful nudists, a hairdo archaeologist to five escaped wallabies and hippies smoking catnip, these stories will make readers laugh and keep them entertained.

Genres: Nonfiction, Short Stories, Humor

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2014

Reviews

[Lily P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Kindle)

A collection of articles that were published in the Wall Street Journal's A-Hed Column.
I had never heard of the A-Hed Column in the Wall Street Journal. Reading this has made me interested in seeking it out.

A quick read--there are 21 stories (some with follow ups) that are on a wide range of topics.

You'll learn of a group of men who's been playing a game of tag for over 20 years and the lengths they'll go to to not be "It" the following year are ridiculous and demonstrate how financial security and entitlement allows some people the ability to do incredibly stupid things.

And then there's the Bronies--Adult fans (usually men) of Hasbro's My Pretty Pony. Yes. It's a real thing.

RECOMMEND

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for a laugh

This is a light hearted book to pick up when you only have a short time to read. Just right to keep in the "John".
A lot of the stories are very interesting. And you may even learn something along the way!

[LouisaLei · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of weird stories from WSJ's A hed column. Some are pretty interesting.

[Quinton Baran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of interesting and weird stories. I found many of them amuzing.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short stories about real events

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure - I received this as a First Reads Giveaway.

I had never heard of the A-Hed Column in the Wall Street Journal. But after reading this, I will certainly keep an eye out for it. The variety of stories in this book span a wide range of different topics. Each story is a fascinating quick-read. I really like that there are follow-ups to a lot of the stories.

My biggest complaint about this book is that there are too few stories. With 21 stories, that may seem like a lot. But they are each relatively short. I wanted this book to go on and on, and span an even wider range of odd stories.

But don't let that dissuade you. Each of the stories stands on its own, and all of them are enjoyable.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing collection of offbeat articles from the A-Hed column of the Wall Street Journal. My favorite was the group of men who have kept a game of tag going for 23 years, ever since they graduated from high school. The game is active for one month every year, and nobody wants to get stuck being "it" for the next 11 months. They do insane things like fly across the country and sneak into each others' offices, cars, or even bedrooms to tag someone. I also liked the article on the potential demise of the apostrophe. I don't remember seeing this column in the WSJ before, but I'll look for it in the future (if I ever come across a WSJ again. Since retirement, I don't seek it out)

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny light read, perfect for picking up & putting down. A series of sketches. You could probably read each story during commercial breaks or read the whole thing to time a tanning session at the beach. Hard to choose a favorite here but I'm a sucker for bulldogs.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lunacy of a mild nature.

[Myra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection from the Wall Street Journal's A-hed column. Some amusing, some strange, some informative, almost all entertaining.

[Pamela Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some articles were amusing, but none were great.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of 21 articles reprinted from the A-Hed column in the Wall Street Journal. These articles are perfect light reading that are easy to pick up at odd moments.