Rating:  Summary: Side-splittingly funny. Makes you think, too. Review: Franken's facts and arguments are sound. Everything in this well-researched book is backed up impeccably. What drew me to the book was the title. My first thought when I saw it was, "Oh boy, is this guy nuts? Publicly calling people liars? He darn well better be sure what he's saying is accurate." This book does what good writing should do: open your mind and make you think. Plus, it is side-splittingly funny in places. Anyone who wants to get an understanding of how the extreme-right-wing media and associated politicians and mouthpieces manipulate facts should read this. Indeed, I'm one of those who usually takes what is reported in the media without a lot of thought regarding the accuracy of what is being said. I'll be a little more critical about that from now on. I don't always like Franken's style which is why I'm only giving it 4 stars. He can be harsh and crude although I'll grant that is deliberately done sarcastically for purposes of entertainment and provocation. In any event, this is still a factually solid, highly recommendable and extremely important book. Both entertaining and eye opening.I'd like to offer some comments about the one-star reviews here: 1. It's obvious that many of them - if not all - were written by people who have not read the book. 2. Its obvious that quite a few are from the same person signing in under different names. 3. The hatred and ignorance (and just plain lack of ability to write clearly and logically using correct English grammar) that is spewed by these people merely serves to prove the basic point that Franken puts forward: that the extreme right wing has no interest in truthful, rational political debate and relies on lies, insults, paranoia and deceit to advance a narrow-minded, mean-spirited political agenda of greed. God help us all if the people of this country don't wake up to that fact and start voting accordingly.
Rating:  Summary: Amusing as well as enlightening... Review: Franken's humor along with his "Team Franken" dispell the propaganda the neo-conservative likes of Ann Coulter, Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, and the lies and spin they impart on the "News". Well done. Informative as well as amusing.
Rating:  Summary: Frothing at times, consistently hillarious Review: Franken's last huge seller on the topic (Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot) I loved, so if that marks me as biased fine. But this book is just as good. Franken spends the first part of the book asserting prominent conservative pundits look dishonest and/or stupid. If you consider this sort of sport cheap and mean spirited, then you probably won't like the rest of the book. He does, however, do a pretty effective job of mixing legitimate research (by his Harvard students not him, he is quick to point out) with really good jokes to make his point. Which he makes especially well against Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly, if you have any specific taste. (And funny too.) Then, sustaining a somewhat off-putting indignation, he launches into articulating the bitter sentiments of the strangely mute left towards the Bush Administration. If you are one of those embattled lefties (like me) who hasn't ever heard anyone else really go after present policies and politics in an effective way, this book is great. (And again funny.) I'm not sure I would purchase this book if I were a Fox News enthusiast because it would probably make me furious and serve little purpose. But if you are on the left end of the spectrum this book is a long sought tonic for a bruised political awareness. (And really really funny.)
Rating:  Summary: Its a keeper! Review: Franken's latest foray into political satire and commentary on current events is a no-holds-barred look at Conservative American politics. Utilizing a razor sharped wit, backed with a firm grasp of THE TRUTH, Franken proves once again he is not only an important voice of political commentary, but a funny one at that!
Rating:  Summary: Review the book, people Review: Franken's latest is like his others -- it shows signs of real wit, but is tarnished by too much mean-spiritedness. If what I just wrote looks strange, that's because it's a politically unbiased opinion. You won't find many of those here addressing this book. Come on, people -- if you're a liberal you love it and if you're a conservative you hate it. Try reading it and judging the writing. It's . . . a . . . BOOK.
Rating:  Summary: Brilliant in some parts, bland in others Review: Franken's latest research into the right-wing agenda (read:lies) provokes and enlightens even the novice political reader. This book proves to be a refreshing voice in the sea of dumbed down conglomerate media. I appreciate the fact that "Team Franken" breaks down so much of what is happening in modern politics for those of us who have little access and limited time to debunk most of what the media feeds us. Parts of the book seemed unnecessary, like the cartoons and the fictional story involving Vietnam, but all in all, the facts are there in black and white and those are what matter most. Sure Franken can be abrasive, but that's what kept me reading. I only wish he would have used more of his signature sarcastic humor and fewer gimmicks. All in all, this is a great read for anyone truly wanting the FACTS about the current state of affairs in this country.
Rating:  Summary: Justified rage tempored with humor Review: Franken's newest book is funny, to-the-point, and surprisingly factual, considering he's mostly known as a Saturday Night Live comic/satirist. He enters into the world he is criticizing, but only to offer in-kind ripostes to the right-wing pseudo-intellectuals who dominate the popular talkshow/pundit circuit. He cuts through the bilgewater and pomposity to expose what I already knew: O'Reilly and Coulter, et al are a bunch of obnoxious phonies. In order to do so, he simply uses the very words of the rabid right authors and commentators to condemn them. He follows up on their misstatements and evasions and offers a load of evidence for what we all knew already: there is an agenda behind the NEWS that can be traced back to who pays for it. In O'Reilly's case, he proves that "fair and balanced" may be copyrighted, but that the words mean nothing when there is nothing behind them. I picked the book up to leaf through and wound up buying it. I expected a Michael Moore attack piece, but found a book that, although funny, speaks to the need for truth and accountability in the world of garbage factoids. I came away admiring Franken when I had always found him annoying and unfunny as a comedian. Here Franken uses humor as a secret weapon. It is the most effective weapon against an unfunny and self-important bunch of liars.
Rating:  Summary: Funny, Yet Terrifying Review: Franken's second book of political humor has an edge to it that, in my opinion, the first one lacked. While his attacks on Rush Limbaugh were funny and rang true, here there is, behind the jokes, a whiff of real anger at what George W. and his friends are doing to our country. That said, the book is funny. Some places it's laugh-out-loud funny, and some places it's bitterly funny. The chapter on "Operation Ignore" is less funny than it is horribly disturbing. While this book will not convince a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, I don't think it's intended to. It is intended for you and me, to make politics more palatable with a dose of humor, while maybe nudging us a little more firmly in the direction of the polls, and convincing us that there is a difference between the parties. I thought it rocked.
Rating:  Summary: Wonderfully humorous thought-provoker! Review: Franken's style is satire, which some people just don't "get". But it is not insulting ridicule; it is not lieing in order to discredit; it is not mindlessly calling names (okay ... it is calling names and then proving those names are deserved, but it is not MINDlessly calling names). His book was a page turner because he accurately checked his information and placed it in footnotes, and because he then made me laugh. But most of all, he helped me to remember and give myself credit for doubting what was happening before my eyes. He helped me to understand that my mistrust ... my feeling that something not quite right had just happened ... my certainty that right on the tip of my memory was what REALLY happened ... should have been trusted. Franken is my hero ... someone who isn't afraid to laugh at himself, and is able to give a lesson in politics that is easy to grasp. Beyond that, he isn't too lazy to make sure of his facts. Of course, it may be argued that he did so by sending 14 little TeamFranken trolls out there to google and nexis to make sure of those facts ... but evidently our media experts do not have this monstrous team, for their quotes stray far from the mouth what spat them.
Rating:  Summary: Finally, some truth (with humor) Review: Franken's the best. Nobody can spar with him one-on-one. The best thing is that he's exposing these right-wing fanatics for what they are - liars - and how they operate - lying. Plenty of facts that ARE backed up, unlike books by Hannity, Coulter, and O'Reilly - super spinmeisters and liars that Franken skewers with humor and the truth. Get this one and know that there's still hope for all of us suffering through George Bush's Amerika.
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