Hey, it's MPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Ben Perkert's debut novel, The Men Can't

Be Saved, is an excoriating look at the advertising industry from someone who's been through it.

Parker, like his protagonist, spent the aughts writing taglines for brands. Now, obviously,

writing about advertising is going to draw comparisons to Mad Men.

And Perkert makes no bones about his inspirations.

He says in this interview with NPR Sasha Pfeiffer that he and his colleagues would talk about

the show every week on Monday after it aired.

And he says what would strike him would be looking at what hasn't changed since the 1960s,

whether we're talking about the patriarchal

structure of advertising companies or men and our inability to look inwards.

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In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why

distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever

you get your podcasts. Some people are self-confident and deserve to be. Others have an inflated

sense of confidence, and they work in industries that encourage bluster and swagger, like the

advertising business in Ben Perkert's view. He's written a new novel called The Men Can't Be Saved,

about a young ad guy named Seth, whose puffed-up ego gets a harsh dose of reality.

...