Slander

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Summary: evidence of a failled school system
Review: I am a republican, but I refuse to be classified in the same political sub-section with this obviously delusional woman. Her writing, logic and research are beyond poor, and I honestly think that what she needs are some good anti-psychotics to deal with her paranoia. I of course have a low threshold for hypocracy and illogical extremists, so yes, I suppose I am biased. But, seriously? Save your money. If you don't buy this book your almost a fourth of the way to a years subscription to the "Economist".

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Summary: Vivid, passionate commentary...
Review: Written by conservative commentator Ann Coulter, "Slander" showcases the author's quick wit and endless passion for politics in the best conservative book since Rush Limbaugh's "See, I Told You So". The focus of "Slander", Coulter's second book, is mainstream liberalism - it's missteps, half-truths, and outright slanders. Coulter presents her case in a well-reasoned, concisely written treatise that will leave its reader wanting for more.

Inside-the-beltway politicos and talk radio junkies will find that this book reads fast. If you read it while you're walking, you're certain to lung face-first into a wall... "Slander" tackles a number of subjects within the realm of conservative-liberal politics. The left-wing media assault on the Fox News Channel and the "religious right" are two such examples. Coulter exposes the myth of the "religious right" with a barrage of facts and footnotes, proving that if such a group exists at all, its numbers are miniscule at best.

The most interesting claim Coulter makes is that liberals don't read, at least not as much as conservatives... She points out that almost half of all the bookstores in the United States are Christian bookstores (a group that is often maligned as intellectually bankrupt). She also points out that while one conservative book after another climbs the New York Times bestseller list, only two liberal books of the last five years are worthy of note: "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" by Al Franken and "Stupid White Men" by Michael Moore. Incidentally, both books contain ad hominem attacks in their titles, illustrating her point that modern liberalism is intellectually bankrupt, and thus, must resort to name-calling and distortions of the truth in order to survive.

Whether you like Republicans or Democrats, one thing is certain - you'll love turning the pages of Ann Coulter's "Slander". Highly recommended for both conservatives and liberals alike!

Britt Gillette
Author of "The Dittohead Guide To Adult Beverages"

Rating:
Summary: Way to package propaganda!
Review: Speaking of lies, Crown, has corrected five errors for the book's second printing. This book is obviously written to appeal to those who don't want to make an independent decision - My favorite part of the book: She introduces a New York Times editorial on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas headlined the youngest, cruelest justice, then writes: "Thomas is not engaged on the substance of his judicial philosophy. He is called 'a colored lawn jockey for conservative white interests,' 'race traitor,' 'black snake,' 'chicken-and-biscuit-eating Uncle Tom' . . . ." (p. 12) I'm sure that 99 percent of Coulter's fans think that the New York Times called Clarence Thomas a chicken-and-biscuit-eating Uncle Tom, but the footnote (for those who bothered to look) refers readers to comments made in a Playboy article, which goes unmentioned in the book's text.

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Summary: Has it moments
Review: After all the hype I just had to read this book. It does have some good moments - it's worth reading for the humor alone. However there isn't enough of that, and when Coulter gets on a rant it can go one for pages without really making a point. She is also a really weak writer and doesn't strike me as being all the bright by the way she writes. Maybe she is a better speaker but I have never had a chance to find out (I don't watch TV for the very reasons she sites in her book).

Overall I would say it's worth your time, just don't get your expectations too high.

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Summary: The Best Book Ever (tied with Treason)
Review: Now we know that the media really is biased. Now, the media actually isn't going to say that its liberal, so we muist expose them. You can't tell me that Dan Rather and Tom Brockaw aren't biased liberals. The only thing conservatives have is Fox News, the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, Human Events, and National Review (I'll bet you you've never heard anything good about the latter two in the newspapers). A great read.

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Summary: New Conservative Diva
Review: It's hard not to gush about Ann Coulter's "Slander." The book takes the popular political non-fiction genre into new territory, one populated with research, facts, and dead-on analogies, not just hot-breathed opinion and self-righteous indignation, although there's plenty of that too. This fast-paced read is dripping with lucid thinking, crisp sentences, biting sarcasm, and sinus-clearing irony.

Liberals will hate it and conservatives will love it. The problem for the left is that the book is so well written that voters in the middle may actually be nudged right, or at least begin to view things in a new light that could slowly swing them that direction over time.

With one example quote after another, Slander focuses on the media's anti-right bias. Much of this is mild and unintentional--there is no vast left-wing conspiracy. But Coulter also points out a plethora of falsehoods and distortions that reach slanderous proportions. Probably the most valuable contribution to the historical record is her analysis of what really took place on election night 2000. It would be nice to see the left's counter to this, something fact-based to back up their claim that Bush "stole the election."

Whatever one's political leanings, after reading Slander it'll be hard to read a newspaper or watch the television news without a dose of skepticism and a more critical eye. All in all, that's a good thing in a healthy democracy.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: The most comprehensive and accurate book on bias in our culture I've ever read. It addresses the issue of bookstores hiding conservative books while prominently displaying liberal books. Of publishers refusing to publish conservative books. And countless examples of the hopelessly left biases in the media. It talks about how the internet has finally let information flow freely instead of being force fed by one sided television stations and newspapers. And it discusses how almost any argument with the left results in name calling and comparisions to Hitler. Buy it.

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Summary: It just goes to show...
Review: ...how we've been lied to in the media, in our schools, & by the Democrats, for the past 30 years. I was raised on the left coast in the 60's, and feel like I've just had the blinders lifted! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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Summary: Donald Rumsfeld is a national sex symbol?
Review: A very pleasant companion for the lunchroom table [also John-friendly] this feverish litany of over-the-line Liberal "slander" of the Conservatives does provide sufficent...food for thought. Although, I didn't learn much more than what I noted in this review title and in the statement that former NJ Republican Governor [anti-Union, Pro-Privatization] Whitman was/is a favorite among Democrats because philosopically she leans to liberalism on key issues. I'll have to check with about seventy Democrats I know who disagree with Ann on this one.
I don't care how many books she sold with "Slander", she could have sold twice as many: have the Publisher use a head to toe shot of this lady dressed in the mini skirt she wore on the Matt Drudge TV show and include 16 pages of pictures from the various other shows she frequents. She's even sexier than Don Rumsfeld.

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Summary: A book not to put down lightly...
Review: but rather to be heaved with great force!
I could only get through fifty pages of this book (including checks on her alleged footnotes), ands skimmed the rest to see if it got any better, before I realized there is no substance behind the sensationalistic charges she rattles off by the ton. I realized I could make better use of my time (my toenails were in need of trimming, for example) than trying to slough through this overwrought diatribe. Instead of explaining her confrontational charges, and substantiating her views, she simply goes on to the next charges. The opportunity to educate those of us who don't get it is never taken, so we are stuck wondering what it is she knows that we don't. She never tells us.
With all the press this book has received I was hoping there would be something substantive to it. There is not. (For a point of comparison, I suggest Bernard Goldberg's book Bias, which is thoughtful, substantive, and readable, all qualities lacking here).
This no doubt labels me, according to some of the other reviews, as a liberal. To these reviewers things are simple-- conservatives must love this book because they are conservatives, and liberals must hate it because they are liberals, and therein lies the problem. Ms. Coulter's book is aimed at those thin slices of America that think in terms of labeling all of us, and then proceeding to attack those with different views (labels). Her style of discourse is what this country needs less of, not more, regardless of your political views. How can anyone take seriously a book or author who tells you, several times in the first fifty pages, that liberals hate America! Does she actually believe this? Is this a way to talk with those who disagree with you?
As an example of her style, she takes a couple of people (Norman Mailer, Al Sharpton, etc.) as the standard for liberalism in this country. Clinton gets a lot of play, too. You know how liberal he is! While this may win points in Debating 101, it does nothing in regard to demonstrating thoughtfulness or insight. Is this really a starting point for meaningful discussion of our common problems and interests? And speaking of labels (they at least make it easy to figure out who is who, at least in her world) I would suggest that Ms. Coulter does a disservice to conservatives by wrapping herself in their flag. If conservatives truly look to someone who writes like this to be a leader in espousing their positions, then conservatism is worse off than I thought it was. All this kind of book does is get the truly faithful (really, the fringe and diehards) riled up. Oh, yeah, one more thing, it sells books.