Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon

Catapult is the magical but true story of two men, a microscopic arts grant, and the siege weapon this volatile combination somehow produced. Bristling with idiosyncrasy, Jim and Harry are an odd couple whose story is the occasion for a sly meditation on the nature of modern masculinity. Their comic oscillations—between knowledge and innocence, for example, or science and art, each man taking his turn on the other side—amuse us even as they shed light on who and what we are. Their catapult quest is seasoned throughout by a carefully apportioned history of such devices, a reminder that where there are men there is violence. Jim Paul’s charming narration and deadpan wit light up every page, which is why critics were rapturous when it was first published in 1991. Read more