Mandela Was Late: Odd things & essays from the Seinfeld writer who coined yada, yada and made spongeworthy a compliment

WITH FULL COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR
Mandela Was Late traverses the inner universe of a satiric genius who maybe should be getting out of the house a little more often. Wrapped in his cocoon of Hollywood residuals, battling his own (mounting?) foibles day by day, former Seinfeld writer/producer Peter Mehlman somehow manages to see the world a little more clearly than the rest of us.
Ride along through the arc of time drawn by six separate moving violations; only in L.A. can you mark life’s mileposts by the traffic citations you receive. Share the thrill of being nominated for an Emmy, and the agony of not winning… early in the evening. Meet a fictive pundit who becomes famous for publishing blank space; a detective who is ready to reopen the O.J. Simpson case and bust it wide open; a parole officer responsible for the newly won freedom of Nelson Mandela; and a Philip Roth who lengthens his literary career by resorting to ‘roids. Go “star trekking” across the urban wilds of Manhattan, hunting celebrity big game; dodge potholes along a memory lane that feels very familiar in spots and bizarrely antic in others; and remember where you were the first time you heard that infamous number… 69. Read and laugh and shake your head. Nothing is sacrosanct, including other people’s kids.
“Mandela Was Late will make you laugh and you will find more than once you can relate to his stories in a “yeah that happened to me” or “yeah I feel the same” kind of way. It was a true pleasure to get a firsthand glimpse into the mind of this master of satire. Keep writing Mr. Mehlman; we are waiting for more.”
–Jaime Martinetion, TheCelebrityCafe.com
“It turns out that not only can Peter Mehlman write funny television, he can write a funny book. Who knew?” ―Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of Veep and Seinfeld
“American humor would not be the same without Peter Mehlman, a former co-executive producer of Seinfeld and leading television writer and producer.” ―The Wrap
“Thanks to Peter Mehlman, former Seinfeld writer and producer, the terms ‘shrinkage’ and ‘yada-yada’ became a part of the popular vernacular.” ―NPR’s Fresh Air
“Anyone who writes for television gets frustrated that they can’t write like Peter Mehlman. Now he’s going to make novelists mad too. Mehlman’s writing style is completely unique and creates an intimate bond between the narrator and the reader. You finish the book feeling as though you’ve made a new friend.” ― Aaron Sorkin, Academy and Emmy-award winning screenwriter, producer, and playwright, whose works include A Few Good Men, The West Wing, The Social Network, and The Newsroom
“Peter Mehlman worked in sports for Howard Cosell, wrote legendary episodes of Seinfeld, and now he’s written an amazingly funny and heartfelt novel. Unstoppable!” ―Marv Albert, Hall of Fame Sports Broadcaster