Rating: 
Summary: Franken's spotlight has the right running
Review: Al Franken is mad as hell and he's not going to take it any more. Of course, he hasn't been taking it for sometime now. In "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them..." he skewers, yet again, some of the conservative right's brightest, yet dullest stars i.e., Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, and, of course, George W. Bush. In addition, he briskly tweaks the nose of Alan Colmes, Hannity's ineffectual token liberal.
Nowhere is the truth of Franken's effort more effectively shown than by the "reviewers" on this site who gave him one star. To a person, their "criticism" is expressed in ad hominum attacks; none counter with any arguments of substance.
That Franken is angry is obvious, but, for the most part, he tempers it with humor. An exception is his piece on how the right deliberately misrepresented the memorial service for Senator Paul Wellstone, accusing Democrats of using the occasion to make political hay while, in the doing, did exactly that themselves. Franken doesn't just offer a biased take on what happened that day in Minnesota, but quotes the conservative opportunists, complete with locations and dates.
Midway through the book Al offers up a brief diversion with a prequel to "Operation Chicken Hawk" which appeared in "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot..." Operation Chicken Hawk: Episode One, was almost worth the price of the book.
TeamFranken, as Al refers to the fourteen Harvard students, who did most of his research, were right on the money in their quest for the facts. I say this because, even though I'm a stunch liberal, I didn't accept their stuff out of hand. I made at least twenty random checks for myself, including the GAO report of its investigation into charges that Clinton staffers "trashed" the White House during the 2000 presidential transition. I was able to verify every one.
Franken isn't writing fiction, as some here have charged. What he's done is called the "Liars" out and exposed them. I watched, for instance, his bout with Bill O'Reilly, and read for myself O'Reilly's handling of the son of one of the men who died at the World Trade Center, who made the mistake of going on his show. Bill didn't like what he was saying so cut him off, in mid sentence, then, when they went off the air, threatened to beat him up. The account I read was written by the man involved.
"Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them..." can be read with confidence in its accuracy. As for enjoyment, it depends on the premium you put on the truth. The blinded right will run from the glare of Franken's spotlight.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Waste of Paper!
Review: Al Franken is mad, a left wing liberial, a loud mouthed Democrate(which is typical amoung all Democrates), and he isnt funny anymore. He attacks anyone he doesnt agree with. He also spends almost the entire book on Fox News and Bill O'Reilly. Franken needs to get over the fact that he is'nt funny anymore and that O'Reilly is a better man. What the hell is matter with this guy? Don't waste your money on this book. This book is exactly what the title says it is, "LIES"!
Rating: 
Summary: Mildly entertaining piece of hack work
Review: Al Franken is mildly funny, but it has to be admitted that he is not an intellectual (aka, someone to be taken seriously). He also presents a sort of wimpy American-style liberalism. If you want the real thing, read some Chomsky and go eat lunch with Vanessa Redgrave. This is the liberal version of Ann Coulter's "Treason", with the same diatribes and parallel verbage. Don't waist your money!
Rating:
Summary: Why doesn't Al Franken have his own show?
Review: Al Franken is more mature, honest, and tolerant than most representing the right. He's a proven good entertainer and has a great sense of humor. As you can see by the bestsellers list in books, he's consistently above books such as O'Riley's and his book has a higher rating. So, why hasn't any network asked him to do a show? I'll tell you why, because CEO's and corporations are conservative by nature and people like Franken pose a threat to their agenda. It's sad. By the way, one of the liars posted on the cover, Bill O'Riley happened to get caught lying about the Fox News lawsuit. First he denied having anything to do with the suit and then later stated that he didn't regret pressuring Fox to sue Al. How ironic that he lied about suing for being called a liar!
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Summary: Al Franken is taking the low road
Review: Al Franken is not as smart as he thinks. He is climbing the fame ladder on the backs of decent people. That this book is enlightening or even worth the time to read it is the biggest lie.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent?
Review: Al Franken is not best described as intelligent. Oftentimes, his arguments fall by the wayside with lack of evidence much like Michael Moore's so often do. Liberal entertainers have not yet mastered the art of fact finding. I'd prefer reading Bill Maher any day
Rating:
Summary: al franken
Review: Al Franken is not only a horrible actor but a horrible american. Why dont you and all your liberal communist friends try living in China or under Sadam's rule for awhile.You wouldnt last 1 month.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: Al Franken is one of the best political commentators of today. He delivers again with Lies... This book will make you laugh and it will probably make you angry, weather you are conservative or liberal. For conservatives, you'll be angry for obvious reasons because you can't stand to have your leaders criticzed and you can't stand to be bothered with facts. If you're a liberal, you'll be angry about all the ways conservatives have distorted the news you hear in today's "liberal media". (The story Franken tells about Paul Wellstone's Memorial last year really got to me. I already thought conservatives were dastardly, but I never expected them to be that disgusting and opportunistic.) I fully recommend this book to anyone interested in politics, or just interested in a good read. Hopefully some people will read it and see the light about what the Bush Administration has really been pulling for the last 3 years. And hopefully, as Mr. Franken says, it will help get Bush out of the White House.
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Summary: It Would Be Even Funnier If It Weren't So Serious
Review: Al Franken is one of the funniest political commentators of our time, and he is also one of the most astute. Here he does a great job of what should have been done for years: skewering the pretensions and hypocrisies of the Radical Right machine which has seized control of the Republican Party and threatens to stage another coup d'etat in the guise of an election in 2004. Franken pulls no punches. His targets, whether the repellent Limbaugh or harpy Coulter or even the disgraceful W. himself, are skillfully dissected and revealed for the hypocrites and miserable worms that they are. And Franken does this with the most effective weapon there is, laughter. Not to be missed!!
Rating:
Summary: A terrific read!
Review: Al Franken is one of the most talented writers of political humor, period. His command of sarcasm, irony, and above all else, comic timing, is nearly without peer. This book is a perfect example of why his works are so popular - hilarious, insightful, inflammatory, and even touching. I loved this book, right down to the endnotes! One thing I have to point out, though, having read many of the comments here, both one-star and five-stars, is that some people are missing the point. Al is not saying that all Republicans are bad, that all right-wingers are fruitcakes, or that every conservative is a liar.
He is pointing out how a small minority have hijacked both the government and the media and turned it into a free-for-all of lies, manipulation, and deceit. He explains how these people exploit patriotism, "Christian values," and fear to pursue power and money to an extent never before seen on this planet. He backs up every one of his assertions (at least the serious ones) with deep research (thanks to TeamFranken, his group of Harvard scholars), something that the people he criticizes apparently fail to do. He points out that certain members of the right-wing media constantly take quotes out of context, or politicize issues that should never have been politicized (like Wellstone's funeral, which he actually attended). Franken clearly states the problems with the Bush administrations' claims to be for the common American. He lays out the lies (very creatively, I might add - I particularly liked his one-act play) that led so many Americans to believe that the Bush tax cut and economic policies would actually help the average Joe or Jane, and backs it up with real numbers and quotes in context (from actual reliable research). He explains that the program cuts perpetrated by this government have harmed millions more than they have helped. He describes the inconsistencies around the Administration's rhetoric leading up to the Iraq war. He explains how some right-wing media icons (O'Reilly, Limbaugh, even Coulter and Hannity) distort the facts, misquote Democrats, and even flat-out lie in their various formats. And, throughout it all, he does this with a combination of frankness, eloquence, self-deprecation, the occasional expletive, and a heckuva lot of research. I highly recommend this book to everyone, even if you proclaim yourself solidly implanted in the right. If you are a right-winger, at best you might be entertained, or even learn something that will help you see the way a few people have hijacked your party with lies and deceit on the grandest of scales. At worst, you have some more ammunition to spew anti-liberal, hateful remarks to your buddies - or here in these reviews.
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