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The Terrible Fives

With the essay My Flight to Canada

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Book 4 of The Terribles

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Pub Date Nov 1 2026 | Archive Date Nov 1 2026


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Description

Ishmael Reed continues his forty-year prophetic book project, The Terribles. Characters introduced in The Terrible Twos (1982) and The Terrible Threes (1989) are back. They include Rev. Clement Jones, JFK, Jr. who is actually Hobbomock, the Quinnipiac shape-shifter, Pres. Hatch, Termite Control, whose real name is Luke Lockett.

A Necrophiliac and an Odin worshipper, Termite Control (Lockett), is the leading presidential candidate. With the decline of the Christian Church in America, are Americans ready to elect someone who wishes to replace the English language with Old Norse? And who wants to tear down the Washington monument and, in its place, build a golden statue of the Norse god? Is the fashion industry in trouble as bear skin replaces suits and hats with horned helmets? Does the rest of the world believe that America has lost its mind?Ishmael Reed again brilliantly reveals lays bare a country where truth and fiction always trade places.

My Flight to Canada traces Reed's literary career spanning 60+ years, his writing and fighting, his relationship with literary figures including James Baldwin and Toni Morrison and the reasons for his own literary "flight to Canada."

Ishmael Reed continues his forty-year prophetic book project, The Terribles. Characters introduced in The Terrible Twos (1982) and The Terrible Threes (1989) are back. They include Rev. Clement...


A Note From the Publisher

My Flight To Canada is an irreverant, revelatory and hard-hitting essay that introduces The Terrible Fives

My Flight To Canada is an irreverant, revelatory and hard-hitting essay that introduces The Terrible Fives


Advance Praise

"For half a century, Ishmael Reed has been American literature’s most fearless satirist.”—The New Yorker

"A great writer."—James Baldwin

"The brightest contributor to American satire since Mark Twain." – The Nation


""Ishmael Reed is the Charlie Parker of American fiction."" 

– Max Roach

"

"For half a century, Ishmael Reed has been American literature’s most fearless satirist.”—The New Yorker

"A great writer."—James Baldwin

"The brightest contributor to American satire since Mark Twain."...


Marketing Plan

  • Reviews in major publications in the United States
  • Interviews
  • Launches in California
  • Reviews in major publications in the United States
  • Interviews
  • Launches in California

Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781771863971
PRICE $29.95 (USD)
PAGES 280

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*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

BISAC Codes

FIC052000 FICTION / Satire
FIC037000 FICTION / Political
FIC049040 FICTION / African American & Black / Historical