Jim Goad, who died on June 22, 2026, wrote and edited the most talked-about zine of the ’90s, the notorious ANSWER Me! A three-volume compilation of the zine sold 30,000 copies for AK Press. Feral House published his prison-era memoir, Shit Magnet, whose film rights House Industries optioned, and his best-selling Redneck Manifesto (Simon & Schuster) sold tens of thousands of copies.

Long out of print, Jim Goad’s Gigantic Book of Sex lampoons every imaginable aspect of human sexuality in 224 hilarious, illustrated, full-color pages. Its four sections (REAL, FAKE, PERSONAL, and OPINION) hold more than 100 articles, none longer than four pages, including:

• “Strange Sex Laws”
• “The Cocks of Rock”
• “Fun ’n’ Obscure Sex Slang”
• “Sex Toys That Time Forgot”
• “Viagra for Masochists”
• “I Always Vote for Bush”

Goad called it “the perfect toilet reading.” The book is R- and not X-rated, with every instance of hardcore sex removed from its sweet-smelling pages.

Chuck Palahniuk and Will Self praised Goad’s writing, and this compilation of his sex writing marked his return to no-holds-barred satire with a gonzo-journalist sensibility.

Few writers have seen their words blamed for obscenity trials, White House shootings, and triple suicides, but fuck all you other writers—I’m a unique case.

I get into more trouble than anyone I’ve ever met. So as I sat for nearly two-and-a-half years locked in a cell, I put pencil to paper and tried to figure out why.

Shit Magnet, written entirely while incarcerated, is a full-length forensic investigation into why so much shit flies my way. It examines what happens when two worlds—Jim Goad and Planet Earth—collide.

The book’s central theme is GUILT: how it’s a uniquely human idea, and whether this raises us higher or drags us lower than other animals; how guilt is disabling and why individuals and societies tend to scapegoat; how the act of blaming the enemy and slaying him is history’s propulsive force; and my miraculous ability to redeem others by absorbing guilt from them.

This is not an autobiography, although I use vignettes from my personal life to illustrate its theme. I go all the way back to my mischief-ridden childhood and how the idea that I’m “evil” was imprinted upon me at an early age. I cover all the violence in my life, both domestic and with complete strangers; all my major literary scandals; the situation that led to my imprisonment; and the fun ‘n’ glory of prison life. Through it all, I look for reasons why I get into so much trouble and why the shit always sticks to me.

The ones who get blamed are often not the guiltiest. And despite outward appearances, I just might be the nicest guy on earth.
—Jim Goad, Author