Thank You For Smoking

The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, an Alabama simpleton who travels across the world, meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture, and experiencing firsthand some of the historic events of the late 20th century.

Bookshop owner William Thacker's world begins to turn upside down after the world's most famous actress, Anna Scott, visits his store. A few minutes later, Will knocks into Anna on the street and spills his orange juice over her. He offers her his place to change, and hence starts a tense courtship between an everyday man and the woman every man dreams of.

Nick Naylor is the chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a tobacco industry lobbying firm that promotes the benefits of cigarettes. He utilizes high-profile media events -- including appearances on television shows that readers of this novel would immediately recognize -- and intentionally provocative rhetoric in order to highlight what his clients view as an unfair crusade against tobacco and nicotine products. The political satire is heightened by Naylor's informal association with lobbyists from other industries that are subjected to routine vilification in the media, e.g. Polly Bailey, a lobbyist for the alcohol/spirits industry, and Bobby Jay Bliss, who represents the firearms industry. Collectively, they form what is known as the M.O.D. Squad, a reference to the title of a police drama, although in this case, "MOD" stands for "Merchants Of Death." A pivotal point in the plot occurs when Naylor is kidnapped by a clandestine group who attempt to kill him by covering him with nicotine patches. The search for the perpetrators of the crime leads to surprising results

The show takes place in New York City and focuses on Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and his best friend Grace Adler, a straight Jewish woman who runs her own interior design firm. Also featured are their friends Karen Walker, a bisexual rich socialite, and Jack McFarland, a struggling gay actor/singer/dancer/waiter.

The Indiana Jones franchise, based on the adventures of the eponymous fictional archaeologist, began in 1981 with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. A prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, followed in 1984 and the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, five years later in 1989. In 1992, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles began airing on television. A fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released on May 22, 2008. In addition, Marvel Comics began publishing The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones in 1983, and Dark Horse Comics earned the comic book rights to the character in 1991. Novelizations of the films have been published, in addition to a series of German novels by Wolfgang Hohlbein, and twelve novels set before the films published by Bantam Books. Numerous video games about Indiana Jones have been released since 1982, with another set to be released.