Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal

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Summary: Heads up! Here comes Barry Crimmins.
Review: Crimmins' book is not only great political satire, it is an honest and insightful personal account of someone raised in small town America. He is a sports fan, a comedian, a son, an entrepreneur whose essays are hilariously irreverent blistering salvos from the heart of someone who cares deeply and walks the talk.

Rating:
Summary: Shake hands with Barry Crimmins
Review: Crimmins' satire can lacerate like razor wire. It's also laugh-out-loud funny. His comments on the current White House administration, and Conservatives of nearly any ilk, are biting and savagely witty. But even those who don't subscribe to the author's partisan ideology should be impressed by several thoughtful essays in this book - ruminations on his hometown near the Finger Lakes, a eulogy for a cancer-stricken friend, his fond memories as founder of the Boston comedy scene circa 1979, his introspective examination of how annual copious snowfall in Central New York state creates hearty skeptics, an encounter with a lost boy and a Good Samaritan. These essays and others show that the author is more than just a political animal. He's also a keen observer of the human condition (a hallmark trait of any fine satirist). Mainly, though, the book focuses on Crimmins' high-principled views, which are insightful, unapologetic, and often very funny.

Rating:
Summary: C'mon, another one?
Review: I didn't read the whole book, but spent about an hour in the back of a bookstore with a copy. This is supposed to be funny? Most of the humor(?) is the same tired crap the left has been spouting for the last 4 years. I like a good political humorist. I can laugh at jokes about conservatives, but this stuff was just mean, not the least bit funny. I kept reading, hoping to crack even a smile. Nothing. Who the hell reads this kind of thing and finds it funny? A total waste of money as was the the hour I spent. This guy needs to wake up and smell the coffee. I think he needs to widen his circle of sycophants, get a bit more varied feedback because this book is garbage

Rating:
Summary: Awesome, Hilarious Book
Review: I got an early Christmas gift - Barry Crimmins Never Shake Hands With A War Criminal and I ended up - in-between picking myself up off the floor, having tumbled from laughter - reading this tremendous work non-stop, cover-to-cover.

Crimmins is incredibly talented, writing with great clarity and conviction, without pandering for laughs. He's a master humorist, a modern day Twain ...

His 'Rushmore of Wrong-Headedness', his riff on Gingrich and more are all side-splitting ...

If you like well-written humor, run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore (or, if you're reading this review, click back and hit the order button) to get this work ... It's tremendous

Peace
JTD

Rating:
Summary: Not bad for what it is
Review: I was very disappointed to find out that this is a collection of old essays rather than new material. But Crimmins is a a pungent political observer in the tradition of Abbie Hoffman (though he personally cites Mark Twain as his role model) and most of these pieces make for amusing and/or thought-provoking reading, especially the ones on the Ding Ho (the seminal Boston comedy club where he and a generation of comics like David Cross, Paula Poundstone, Bob Goldthwait and Tom Kenny learned their chops) and his World War II veteran father's struggle with post-traumatic stress.

Rating:
Summary: Cool drink of reality
Review: In a world where the Emperor's Clothes have become the Emperor's news media, Barry Crimmins voice has the ring of honesty. His biting humor and painfully honest historical revelations remind readers that there is still value in truth, however hard that truth may be. On top of that, Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal is a great read. Crimmins' writing is amazingly skillful and multi-textured. This book is a cool drink of reality, satisfying both the soul and the mind.

Rating:
Summary: Sanely Funny
Review: In this age when dishonest and careless people cloak themselves in Christianity, and when fair and balanced is anything but, it is a relief to read Barry Crimmins. Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal combines humor with humanity and courage with the truth. The chapters about Crimmins' dying friend and the Oklahoma City bombing made me cry and the chapters about surfing on the Niagara and Newt Gingrich made me laugh. And all of it made me want to stand up for what is good in each of us. I recommend this book for anyone whose soul needs a drink of something clean and refreshing.