<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>In 1938, two rival expeditions descend on an ancient temple recently discovered in the jungles of Honduras, one intending to shoot a huge Hollywood production on location there, the other to disassemble the temple and ship it back to New York. A seemingly endless stalemate ensues. Twenty years later, a rogue CIA agent sets out to exploit the temple for his own ends, unaware that it is a locus of conspiracies far grander than anyone could ever have guessed. <p/>Shot through with intrigue, ingenuity, and adventure, and showcasing Beauman's riotous humor, spectacular imagination, and riveting prose, <i>Madness Is Better Than Defeat</i> is a novel without parallel: inventive, anarchic, and delightfully insane.<p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>"A brilliant comedic commentary on colonialism, capitalism, religious war and violence . . . fueled by Beauman's gorgeous descriptions and hysterically funny bits."--Helen Stapinski, <i>The New York Times Book Review</i> <p/>Reminiscent of the Coen Brothers at their best, <i>Madness Is Better Than Defeat</i> is a strange, brilliant and satisfying trip to a more entertaining version of history.--Jaclyn Fulwood, <i>Shelf Awareness</i> <p/>Mystery, murder, and mayhem abound in this highly imaginative, devilishly plotted adventure from <i>Granta </i>Best of Young British Writers Beauman.--Barbara Love, <i>Library Journal</i> <p/>[A] rowdy, thoroughly satisfying literary adventure. . . . Exquisitely comic and absurd, Beauman's imaginative novel brims with the snappy dialogue, vivid scenery, and converging story lines of an old Hollywood classic.--<i>Publishers Weekly</i> (starred review) <p/>Like an agent of the former British Empire, this book goes all over the world, gets in adventures, and maintains a tone of restraint even in tight spots--with comedic results. Take Graham Greene, add salaciousness and surreality, and you've got the undefeated madness that only Ned Beauman can deliver. A work of globe-trotting imagination, sex, violence and wit, told in an elegant style--an accomplishment that writers will study and readers will delight in.--Atticus Lish, author of <i>Preparation for the Next Life</i> <p/>Ned Beauman writes sentences so good I want to collect them, except that after a few pages I'm basically just transcribing the book. His newest novel is elegant, witty, precise and often hilarious. I didn't read it so much as savor it, word by word.--Charles Yu, author of <i>How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe</i><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br>NED BEAUMAN was born in 1985 and studied philosophy at the University of Cambridge. He was included on <i>Granta</i>'s 2013 list of the twenty best young British novelists, and his work has been translated into more than ten languages. He lives in London.