Rating: 
Summary: Franken's Best Book To Date
Review: This is Al Franken's best book to date. Take it to the prom.Franken's comedic aim has always been scattershot, but that's often a necessity when you're aiming for moving targets. Here, his raging humor (or humorous rage, if you like) benefits from a coherence and focus that helps him score an impressive number of bulls-eyes. Franken has a good journalist's ear for the revealing anecdote and the telling quote. Solid research builds Franken's case for the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of contemporary American conservatism. Incisive wit makes his argument entertaining. Sweet reason makes his indictment of right-wing politicians and media personalities persuasive and compelling. In the interests of "fair and balanced" commentary, some of the book's sharpest criticism is reserved for the "liberal" media. Franken contends-and demonstrates-that the media is not so much biased as lazy. Shallow, self-important and self-aggrandizing, journalists working for large media conglomerates are easily manipulated by cynical political operatives, missing real stories in their rush for scandal, sensation and, of course, profit. One of the oldest--and most odious--tactics in the history of politics is to impugn the patriotism of one's political opponents. True patriotism asserts that such tactics dishonor this nation. True patriotism honestly confronts the kind of jingoistic, self-serving, self-righteous lies that threaten the future of our republic. True patriotism is imaginative and optimistic about what people of good will can accomplish through representative democracy. "Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them)" is, then, a truly patriotic work. It's also damned funny. Buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and funny read
Review: This is Al Franken's most ambitious book to date and and its author and publisher are reaping the benefits of publicity generated by the FoxTV lawsuit. Al Franken is a very funny man and there are plenty of laughs in this book. He reads widely, does his research (or has it done by TeamFranklin) and does a credible job in countering some of the sillier claims of the conservative movement. He regularly and successfully torpedoes Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter, among others. He accurately tells the truth about the hatchet job conservatives and the media did on the Wellstone Memorial. I learned a lot from the book. ("I LAUGHED! I LEARNED!") The irony of the whole "fair and balanced" controversy is, of course, that Al is no more "fair and balanced" than FoxTV or, for that matter, Ann Coulter, the subject of two chapters in this book. (I understand that Al is deliberately being ironic). But therein lies the problem with this interesting and enjoyable read. As a regular reader, I believe it is time for Al to decide whether he is going to be a more effective political commentator or a comedian of this style. It is, of course, possible to be a funny AND a legitimate political commentator (Molly Ivins, P.J. O'Rourke). I think the problem here is that Franken's style of humor, carried to extremes, blunts his arguments. He slides from truth-telling to satire and back again. A reasonably intelligent reader can tell the difference. But, his hatred for the principals of the political movement he despises and his willingness to engage in personal attacks make him share more with Ann Coulter than I imagine he wants to admit. There is plenty of room for satire of Franken's style. There is plenty of room for hard-nosed and objective commentary. In Franken's case the blend of the two often works--but the meanest and most personal of his attack-humor gives his critics a good excuse to wave him off as "shrill and unstable." What we need, and still don't have, is dispassionate analysis of the current polarization of American politics that can help us all form a clearer picture of what is going on in American political life.
Rating: 
Summary: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
Review: This is an a amazing book. Witty, funny and intelligent. Must reading for all voters. You will not be easily fooled by the media, talk show hosts and pundits, and Bush administration.
Rating: 
Summary: This Guy is a Complete Idiot
Review: This is an absolute piece of garbage. Al and friends are getting upset and have taken to name calling (you know that wonderful thing liberals do.) They are upset because the new conservative movement is unstoppable. Al, face it. We will take back our country and get back the principles we were founded on. We are tired of worrying about offending everyone for every thing. It's gotten old, so give up. Your liberal views are NOT going to be followed anymore!!!!!!! People are tired of being told what is good fo them. It's time we all take responsibility for ourselves.
Rating:
Summary: false witness indeed!
Review: This is an amazing book that surely made Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter more insane, and undoubtedly made Bill O'Reilly more splotchy! A must read for truth seekers, liberal and conservative alike. I'm not sure there are many conservative truth seekers, but I wanted to write a fair and balanced review. If you're out there, come join our liberal, factually accurate reindeer games!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and hysterically funny!!!!
Review: This is an amazing book!! It is hysterically funny, and such a relief to read intelligent and insightful commentary about the sad state of our "Presidency". It really makes one wonder if the right-wing is truly evil or just incredibly misguided. In any case, it shows some true villians for what they are, so laugh and enjoy and think a bit.
Rating:
Summary: What a fun and disturbing read!
Review: This is an amazing book. Some nights it's hard to get to sleep after reading a few chapters because I'm so upset at how much the right manipulates and distorts the truth to suit their agenda. Franken has a great style and more often than not I find myself smiling or laughing while reading. The exception was the chapter on the tragic death of Senator Wellstone. Having met him, it touched a nerve and I found my eyes welling up with tears. I definately reccomend this book and I will absolutely read other books by Franken.
Rating:
Summary: Left Wing Comedy With A Purpose
Review: This is an amazingly hysterically funny book for any left-winger. If you staunchly support conservative politicians, this will NOT be the book for you. If you are a clean-air-breathing, child-educating, free-speech-loving liberal, I would highly recommend this book. Not only did it make me laugh (and laugh, and laugh...) but Franken brings up some interesting and pertinent points about conservative politicians, commentators, think tanks and media. Intelligent comedy.
Rating:
Summary: al franken and liberals are going to disappear from earth...
Review: This is an astute response on my part to the unfearing "challenge" by one of the thousands of faceless, liberal cronies impersonating "reviews" on this page. One of them actually had the audacity to intimidate people he, self-damagingly and nervously, thinks are all cons, based on their 1-star ratings, to provide proof of Frankenut's liberal lies. I think he even went so extreme, in his increasingly crumbling presumption, to claim that he only ever saw one internet site that offered some form of expose of Frankenut. Not so. At Townhall's website, columnist Michelle Malkin wrote a piece from August 22, detailing Frankeninny's veracity problems.
Here is one of the most notorious and lucid exposes of Al Franken's lies. Just type in this handy little URL into your web address bar: townhall.com, forward slash, columnists, forward slash, michellemalkin, forward slash, mm20030822.shtml You should get the filthy dirt on Al Franken pretending to be the self-righteously moral "martyr", leading his fellow insane left-wingers out of the desert, by unscrupulously stigmatizing the right as being the worst liars. Yet this four-eyed, coke-bottle glasses, middle-aged NERD is such a soullessly shameless LIAR, that he ACTUALLY used deceptive tactics to generate material WHILE writing this book which he falsifies is solely about right-wing "dishonesty". To preview, a little, within that provided address, Franken resorts to about 4 sub-lies within his gigantically broad lie of using Shorenstein Center stationary (that's right, the same cancerously twisted, radical left-wing elitists who helped compose his "book") to dupe John Ashcroft into sharing his experiences with abstinence. Franken again lied that Ashcroft's personal story would be used in a book he was writing about abstinence programs in our public schools. Which are, AGAIN, more lies based on original L-I-E-S. This brings me full circle to the dissolutely unprincipled "testimonies" from all these liberal-wrecked reviewers. How in the HELL can these unconscientious creatures NOT ONLY keep blackening the right as "viciously distorting everything", but also keep praising their superficially veneered, hero-jacka$$ Franken as a rolemodel of virtue?!?! Especially when this blatantly obscene lecher used falsehood as the methods with which to compose a "book" that supposedly points the finger at everyone EXCEPT for him and his side???
Rating:
Summary: Book #16 in the development of a cynic
Review: This is an entertaining and very readable partisan rip against the usual suspects on the Right side of what passes for political discourse today in America. Franken is annoyed at the unanswered attacks by the talking heads on the conservative talk show circuit and blasts back with both barrels, citing tons of statistics, facts and stories to counter their arguments and support his own. I enjoyed reading it, agreed with some of it, and learned some new information. BUT....... Here is my problem: I have recently been reading a number of these popular one-sided "fact-telling" books such as Sean Hannitys' "Let Freedom Ring", Dick Morris' "Off with their Heads", John Stossel' "Give me a Break", Bill O'Reilly's "No-Spin Zone", and a few others. If you read any of these one-note books (Liberal is always right!, or Conservative all the way!!) you will not be reading anything that is even slightly objective yet they all try to take that tone. They all sound reasonable, at least in spots, with plenty of polls and statistics and stories to support their points. But they can't all be correct. When you read several of them at the same time it starts to be overwhelmingly obnoxious. Well, quit shouting at me! If you have a point, lay it out there, but no single perspective is always correct with the other side always wrong. It just doesn't work that way in the real world. So why do they do it? To sell books, or on the TV shows and talk shows, to sell soap or whatever products the ads are promoting. Just remember that and don't allow yourself to get swept up in the muckraking. One funny side effect that happened as I developed a huge skeptical chip on my shoulder toward these self-appointed partisan pundit books from both destructive sides of the political spectrum; I was reading a cookbook (from Cooks Illustrated, a great series) where they were talking about the process they went through to arrive at the best way to cook chicken breasts. I read it, and thought, "Yeah, right, that's just a one-sided explanation to prove your point". Bottom-line, read Franken or any of these guys purely as entertainment and don't get your decision-making information from them.
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