Things Are Against Us is a collection of satirical essays. They treat subjects such as the obstinancy, incorrigibility, and recalcitrance of THINGS, which have a lot to answer for; Laura Ingalls Wilder's unimpressive descriptions of the construction of bobsleds, railways, and complicated dresses, and the astonishing amount of food Almanzo Wilder ate in a day; our efforts to stand on our own two feet, put our best foot forward, remain footloose and fancy-free, only inevitably to put our foot in it; the first suggestion the internet offers when you Google the word 'women' (spoiler: it's shoes); the nobility of buttons; and what the rejection of tourists by Jordanian donkeys should mean for global air travel.