Is Ishmael Reed's brilliantly satiric deconstruction of western civilization, a racy and uproarious commentary on our society. In it, Reed, one of our preeminent african-American authors, mixes portraits of historical fi...Is Ishmael Reed's brilliantly satiric deconstruction of western civilization, a racy and uproarious commentary on our society. In it, Reed, one of our preeminent african-American authors, mixes portraits of historical fiction figures and fictional characters with sound bites on subjects ranging from ragtime to Greek philosophy.