When authors give shout outs to other great works, people, and events, it's usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- Dante (2.219)
- Gabriel Garcia-Marquez (2.222; 14.50)
- William Styron (2.222; 14.45)
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (2.222; 14.50)
- Mickey Spillane (2.223)
- James M. Cain (2.224)
- Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (9.103)
- Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (14.24)
- James Michener (14.45)
- John Steinbeck (14.50)
- Carl Jung (15.57)
- Joseph Campbell (15.59)
- Claude Lévi-Strauss (15.59)
- Heinrich Zimmer (15.59)
- Salman Rushdie (15.256)
- Mark Twain (18.123)
- Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (19.2)
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet (22.32; 44.6)
- Sigmund Freud (34.76)
- Sophocles, Oedipus the King (34.80)
- Plato (47.69)
- Søren Kierkegaard (47.69)
Historical References
- President Bush (the first one) (throughout)
- Saddam Hussein (throughout)
- Operation Desert Shield (throughout)
- The Persian Gulf crisis (1.2)
- Nikita Khrushchev (2.9; 5.26)
- Mamie Eisenhower (2.48; 42.307)
- J. Edgar Hoover (2.133)
- Marquis de Sade (2.244)
- John F. Kennedy (3.27)
- Lee Harvey Oswald (6.64)
- Alexander Graham Bell (9.62)
- Eli Whitney (9.62)
- The Trojan War (12.68)
- Mother Teresa (12.123)
- Chappaquiddick (13.3; 18.1)
- Woodstock (13.3)
- Manifest Destiny (13.33)
- Sandra Day O'Connor (17.314)
- Neil Armstrong and the moon landing (18.1)
- Gloria Steinem (25.9)
- Henry Ford (30.57)
- Rodney King (38.7; 40.9)
Pop Culture References
- The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (2.71)
- John Lennon, "Instant Karma" (2.176)
- Sesame Street (2.204)
- Hustler (2.223)
- Cheers (2.236)
- Jaws (2.242)
- L.A. Law (2.246; 26.18; 40.203)
- Tina Turner (2.250)
- David Letterman (3.1)
- Jerry Lewis, The Nutty Professor (3.27)
- Elmer Fudd (3.27)
- Maxwell Smart (3.27)
- Willie Nelson (3.60)
- Bob Dylan (3.60)
- Indigo Girls (3.68)
- Three Stooges (3.68; 5.8)
- Robocop (4.31)
- Daffy Duck (5.8)
- Sylvester (5.8)
- Tweety Bird (5.8)
- Road Runner (5.8)
- Francis the Talking Mule (5.24)
- The Rifleman (5.26)
- Jayne Mansfield (5.26)
- The Wizard of Oz (5.40)
- Connie Chung (throughout Chapters 6, 7, 9 and 17)
- Charles Bronson (6.12)
- Hawaii Five-O (6.24)
- Geraldo Rivera (6.27)
- Elvis Presley (6.41)
- Psycho (7.9)
- Don Knotts (Barney Fife, Mr. Furley from Three's Company) (7.76)
- Ivana Trump (7.83)
- Superman (8.4; 15.227)
- The Addams Family (8.41)
- "The Monster Mash" (8.45)
- Star Trek (9.2)
- Rambo (9.140)
- The Music Man (10.5)
- The Rockettes (10.14)
- Luke Skywalker (12.2)
- Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, "Wooly Bully" (12.23)
- The Troggs, "Wild Thing" (12.26)
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (12.26)
- Donald Trump (12.38; 30.66)
- Arsenio Hall (12.39)
- The Price is Right (12.41)
- Eddie Haskell, Leave it to Beaver (12.72)
- Michael Bolton (12.128)
- Annette Funicello (13.14)
- Jayne Mansfield (13.36)
- Jeopardy! (14.15)
- Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (14.15)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (15.14; 46.132)
- Night of the Living Dead (15.36; 28.11)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (15.38)
- Curious George (15.79)
- Jackie Gleason, The Honeymooners (17.45)
- Planet of the Apes (18.17)
- King Kong (18.23)
- Popeye (18.25, 18.42)
- Steve McQueen, Bullitt (18.47)
- James Bond (18.47)
- Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (18.47)
- Tonto, The Lone Ranger (19.69; 28.62)
- Jiminy Cricket (19.109)
- Lassie (20.23)
- Jackson Pollock (21.9)
- Gina Lollobrigida (21.17)
- Stephen Foster, "Beautiful Dreamer" (21.18)
- Johnny Weissmuller, Tarzan (21.38)
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (22.32)
- The Mod Squad (22.261)
- Charles Manson (24.59)
- The Twilight Zone (25.95)
- John Wayne (25.145)
- Alfred Hitchcock (26.72)
- David Letterman (27.16)
- The Monkees (27.16)
- Rhoda Morgenstern (27.16)
- Goofy (28.6)
- Patton (28.26)
- Jack Benny (28.36)
- Ted Turner (30.57)
- Frugal Gourmet (30.168)
- 60 Minutes (30.333)
- Carol Brady (30.368)
- Mary Tyler Moore (30.374)
- Paul Newman (30.385)
- Murder, She Wrote (30.392)
- Rambo (30.396)
- Batman (30.398)
- Annie Oakley (30.402)
- Little Red Riding Hood (34.76)
- Cinderella (34.80)
- Bruce Willis, Die Hard 2 (36.96; 44.91)
- Mickey Mouseketeers (38.4)
- Eric Clapton (40.18; 42.338; 46.109)
- The Little Mermaid (40.204; 46.136)
- The People's Court (40.235)
- Walt Disney (42.30)
- George Carlin (42.82)
- Seinfeld (44.75)
- The Simpsons (44.75)
- Olivia Newton-John (44.165)
- Yanni (46.103)
- Oprah (46.81, 46.86)
- M*A*S*H, Hop Lips Houlihan (46.120)
- Dances with Wolves (46.132)
- The Naked Gun (46.132)
- Rodney Dangerfield (47.22)
- Bob Marley (47.120)