Rating: 
Summary: A title that's no lie
Review: I haven't even read it yet, but my intuition tells me I'll love it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good For Al
Review: I haven't finished the book, but I am enjoying every page thus far. It is a breath of fresh air to finally read something that I have been craving for over two years. The truth! While Al's satire sometimes gets tiresome, the content of his book is excellent and humorous. It doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator, which most people who enjoy reading, both conservative and liberal, are not.As an aside, the fox tag line 'We Report You Decide' turns out to be a lie. No mention of the dropped lawsuit on their web page.
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Summary: Thank God for Al Franken! - Buy This Book!
Review: I haven't read it although I did just read about 100 of the 2000 or so reviews so I get the idea; it's drivel. Nevertheless, I'm an Amazon stockholder; a part of every penny they make is mine, and anyone who reads this stuff might have otherwise bought beer with the money. Go for it! And buy a copy for a friend!
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Summary: Let's be honest folks
Review: I haven't read this book, but I felt the need to respond to some reviewers. First, grow up. Both the left and the right are neither demons nor saints because they have different opinions. Neither the left nor the right have a trademark on the truth, both sides have had noble periods and have had their inhumane periods. Second, why do these reviewers assume I am either left (and with them) or right (and against them)? That's a problem, as a country, we are dividing and we will fall if it continues. It seems childish to communicate that way. It sounds close-minded. I am in the middle. I cannot blindly side with the left nor the right. To get a full picture of American thought I need to hear from all sides. I try not to let bias keep from experiencing open dialog. I try not to assume I (or my side) is right and has all the answers and the other side just doesn't understand. Third, instead of being a mouthpiece for your side those reviewers who didn't (some did) give me anything but a cheer for the left give me an argument for why I should bother reading this book with my busy schedule. I read a few that sounded like this is just another of those bash the other side books liberals and conservatives both put out. What makes this one worth picking up? Whet my appetite, people!
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Summary: bulls eye
Review: i havent laughed some much reading a book in a while , the book is well written , he backs his accusations with facts,
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Summary: Belly laughs or stupidities, depending on your POV
Review: I heard about "Lies..." while listening to NPR's Terry Gross interviewing Bill O'Reilly who was whining about the book and how he was depicted therein, not to mention his "splotchy" pix on the cover. He later whined about how Terry Gross treated him before he walked out on her, claiming that she was a lot nicer to Al Franken when she interviewed him. I heard that interview too, and it was clear that, doggone it, she did like Franken better. (I think she couldn't help herself.) Anyway, by now everybody knows the story of how "Lies..." became a #1 Bestseller thanks to Fox News suing Franken for his use of what they thought was their propriety slogan "Fair and Balanced" in his title. The resulting publicity vaulted Franken to the top. Curious minds (like mine) wanted to know what the stink was all about. What I found out is "Fair and Balanced" this book is not, and of course Franken knows that and used the phrase ironically and as a special dig at the right-wing leaning Fox News people. He really does have a bee in his bonnet, if you will, about those shock jocks on the right. Perhaps he asked himself, How many AM radio talk shows are hosted by liberals? Try something like close to zero--or zay'row as the French say. That's nada, and you want to know why? Because people on the left like to think of themselves as above such Neanderthal hate-mongering, slogan-yelling, pseudo-righteous blathering and bullying; instead you will find them tuned solemnly to NPR or the BBC or catching the latest feminist play at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. As for real doctrinaire lefties of the bleeding heart variety they can be found listening to Pacifica radio as it spins multicultural music and first person reports from the exploited in Palestine or the jungles of South America. Liberals do NOT rant and rave or tell barnyard jokes in public. Please. Well, Al Franken excepted. So I don't know how well this will sit with people on the left. (People on the right will burn it along with their Dixie Chicks CDs.) But I would like to make an observation. Most successful political books are highly partisan, and they have a predictable readership: people on the right want it spelled out that liberals are commies and traitors, etc., while people on the left want it noted that George W. was a drunk, dodged serving in Vietnam, and is so immoral that he is giving the US treasury to Big Oil, Big Pharma, etc. and his friends at Halliburton (that's with two "l's", taxpayers) while waging an aggressive war for a personal photo-op in fighter pilot gear aboard an aircraft carrier. So popular political books tend to be one-sided. This one is no exception. Another thing: doctrinaire conservatives and doctrinaire liberals are swayed not one iota by argument because their beliefs are like religious beliefs, held regardless of evidence. I think the genetic pool of the human species includes genes that can be expressed for change or against change, depending on the early experience of the individual, and these left and right inclinations are not rationally held but are largely genetic. Ask yourself, have you ever seen a dyed-in-the-wool conservative or liberal swayed by rational argument or the preponderance of evidence? I didn't think so, which is possibly why Franken resorts to humor. Anyway, this is a belly-laughed romp or a stupid, off-color rant depending on your political leanings. I thought it was both.
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Summary: Excellent: funny, but scary at the same time
Review: I highly recommend this book for any open-minded person. It is a very well written revelation of how the right-wing uses lies and deceit to propaganize the nation. Al Franken, unlike his conservative antagonists, thoroughly documents all his assertions with the aid of a team of Harvard graduate students. Although Franken, a great comedian, uses humor and satire to tell his story, the book opens your eyes to the scary reality of just how powerful, sinister and ruthless the right-wing is in their use of the media to launch their attacks on those who dare to publicly disagree with them.
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Summary: HILARIOUS!!! AN INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING READ
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in current events and the state of the media and the right. This book is both informative and entertaining, Al Franken is a pleasure to read and will recommend this book to everyone. I read the book in 1 day, I couldn't put it down and when I finished first thing I did was did a search for more Al Franken books. Truly a pleasure to read! I especially loved the chapters on FOX, Bill O'Reilly and HANNITY and colmes, this book is definitely a breath of fresh air. Al KEEP IT UP!!!!
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Summary: Funny, Scary, Sad
Review: I hope Al Franken gets rich from royalties from this book. Here he parses the sentences made by the fair right and other monsters to point up their lies, half-lies, innuendoes, quotations out of context ad nauseam. Mr. Franken lists his sources and backs his statements up with references in the back of the book, not that that means anything to his critics. Thank you, Mr. Franken, for reminding us once again of the many good things that President Clinton did for America. That information alone would make the book worth reading. There are lots of funny things here - "Operation Chickenhawk" in which Lieutenant John Kerry's Vietnam troops consist of George W. Bush, who is usually a little tipsy; Dick Cheney, who in the heat of combat has a heart attack; Clarence Thomas who is into pornography, along with John Ashcroft, Bill O'Reilly, Phil Gramm and Rush Limbaugh. In the midst of this gaggle, Al Gore comes to to an article on Kerry. Delicious. Then there's the "No Child Left Behind Standardized Test" and the list of people-- Ashcroft, Ralph Reed, Phyllis Schlafly, Condoleezza Rice, the Cheneys, Pat Robertson et al-- whom Franken writes to get their personal abstinence stories. Then some of the scary stuff: I found it incredible when it happened and Franken reminded me that Max Cleland in the 2000 election was portrayed as "unpatriotic" by his opponent. This is a man who lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam. That that lie stuck and probably cost Cleland the election is scary beyond belief. Don't forget Jerry Falwell's statement on 9/13/01: "I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way--all of them who have tried to secularize America--I point the finger in their face, and say, 'you helped this happen'." Well, the right Reverend Falwell forgot the little old ladies who play bingo on Wednesday nights. They are really what's sending this nation to hell in a wheelbarrow. But this book ultimately will make you sad, sad that we lost most of the world's goodwill we gained after 9/11/01, sad that there is no civility left in government and politics. (I recently heard a taped conversation between President Kennedy and President Eisenhower in which Kennedy was asking Eisenhower's advice on what to do about an international crisis. There was respect and cordiality on both ends of the telephone. I don't believe that would happen in Washington today.) I was saddened that Paul Wellstone's memorial service in the hands of the right wingers became a "political rally" for Democrats. My one problem with this book is that Mr. Frankel is so good that sometimes I cannot tell if he is joking or not. For example, did John Ashcroft actually annoint himself with oil before being sworn in for public office in Missouri?
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding! Al is both funny and spot-on...
Review: I hope Bush supporters and other mindless big-business conservatives end up with a migraine when they see how popular this book has become! Al is as funny as he's ever been on Saturday Night Live, yet he doesn't miss a single important fault of the worst Republican President since... well... that Hollywood actor. Even conservatives who have a slim opening in an otherwise closed mind will enjoy the humor -- and all the while, those of us who actually recognize the world of Limbaugh and Coulter hypocrisy for what it is can finally hear the truth! THANKS, AL!
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