Patrick Andendall has always had an interest in politics
and, being multicultural, he views issues from a more international
perspective. In 2004, five days before the election, he flew to Cleveland
and pitched in to help with the political process. What he discovered was the
dissolution of the American Dream, which he writes about in his book, Stupidparty.
Educated at English boarding schools from the age of seven,
Andendall went on to graduate from Lancing
College. He started by sometimes
working three jobs at once, trainee Underwriter/claim broker at Lloyd's of
London, his own one man cleaning Company (cleaning the very offices of a
Reinsurance Company he would transact business at) plus doing seasonal work on
various farms.
Having made some windfall profits by borrowing money in
order to be a "Stag" to take advantage of opportunities created by
Margaret Thatcher's de nationalization policies of the mid 1980's, Andendall
evolved into an entrepreneur with a core specialty in Reinsurance in London
and New York where he looks for
patterns in numbers. Self-employed in a field not normally conducive to
self-employment, he is able remain in control, juggle different jobs, travel
and pursue his various interests.
Ending up in New York
via romance in the African bush, Andendall now lives on Long Island
with his wife, two children and two dogs.
Can you tell us what your book, Stupidparty Math V. Myth is about? Why did you write it?
My inspiration for Stupidparty Math v. Myth
comes from my work on the 2004 Kerry campaign. I had the opportunity to canvass
door to door educating voters about the election. I have learned that face to
face conversations are the most effective way to motivate sporadic voters and I
know that if I had not had spoken to many of these voters, they would have
stayed home so I am proud of that kind
These are the same figures who perpetuate the
myth that Obama is not an American, who have a fantasy economic theory, who
empower attention hungry politicians every way they can. The book is about the
messages being sent to the audience that pays attention to these people. I know
one thing about this audience: They vote. The reason I stopped working in the
field is because I saw it as my responsibility to combat the leaders of this
audience. These people are easily motivated to vote and if we have a more
responsible discourse and if these people are equipped with facts, I believe
that the Republican party will be more responsible when governing. The group of
people I am writing for includes this group of voters who are ignorant about
what they are voting for when they elect Republicans. A simple comparison of
what Republicans portend to be the main set of values they believe in does not
coincide with the math created by the modern day Republican party.
What kind of message is your book trying to tell
your readers?
Don’t accept the status quo. Think about what
our leaders our telling us against the facts.
Who influenced you to write your book?
The people around me. I feel that even very
smart well-meaning people fall into the trap of false equivalence, and opinions
not grounded in the facts.
Which author(s) do you admire?
Patrick O’brien – but I have no delusions about
trying to emulate any great author.
Have you suffered from writer’s block and what
do you do to get back on track?
This was never a problem. I had too much
material from years of thinking about the subject for this book. The challenge
was deciding how to distill it into book form, chapter by chapter.
What would you do with an extra hour today if
you could do anything you wanted?
Sleep.
If we were to meet for lunch to talk books,
where would we go?
A small boutique coffeeshop with charm and
character. The way I measure character in a coffeeshop is through its amount of
diversity in sitting and table options: The greater the variety, the greater
the character.
What do you like to do for fun?
I am an outdoorsman — I greatly enjoy skiing.
Most of all, I like being with my dogs.
What kind of advice would you give other
non-fiction authors?
Hire a great Copy editor, who asks the right
questions, without changing your voice and makes you look smarter than you are.