Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror : Observations and Denunciations by a Founding Member of Monty Python

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: Comics are the philosophers of today. Using comedy Jones was able to analyze topics that, sadly, no serious journalist/commentator/pundit/talking head was able to do. Great Work Mr. Jones.

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Summary: Devastes the lies of the Buschco regime
Review: Despite what many may say, the Bush Administration has learned some lessons from history. Unfortunately for the world in general and America in particular they are the wrong lessons. Rumsfeld behaves as though he has never heard of Robert McNamara but the rest of the regime seem to be keen students of Joseph Goebbels, topping the despicable old b*st*rd with every press release issued.

Terry Jones lays bare these lies with logic and vitriolic humour. As for the other comments that these essays and letters are for the "already converted", there may be some truth to that observation. However, what does one say to somebody who listens to and agrees with the likes of Ann Coulter, Bill "Falafel" O'Reilly or Rush "Draft Dodging Drug Addict" Limbaugh?

If you are a "Red-Stater" then you will probably hate this book. If you are feeling daring then find a copy and have a "Blue-Stater" read it to you. Maybe the message will sink in that your Beloved Leader is anything but.

However, the rest of the world (which still includes the blue states) will find this to be an amusing, disturbing and thought provoking book.



Rating:
Summary: War on Terror... what a disappointment
Review: I gave "WAR ON TERROR" one star, because you I could not give it a half star. I bought the book because I find Terry Jones enjoyable and witty even without Monty Python. But this book was your standard ultra-liberal whining clap-trap, full of outlandish accusations without any evidence. My advice is that if you are thinking of buying this book, buy something by Ann Coulter, instead. Even if you hate her politics, her writing is fun, as mean-spritied as Terry Jones thinks he's being, and she always provides tons of material to back up what she says.

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Summary: LOGIC ABOUNDS!
Review: I'm only half way through this book and the stark realizations and unwavering logic is overwhelming. Although I agree with everything Mr. Jones says, he's approached it from an angle unfamiliar to me. I highly recommend this book.... but only if you don't fear the truth about this administration. Now.... if only Bush and Blair were this sensible.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: These editorials are really worth reading, blending satire and humor with truth and giving you facts that you never hear from the major news outlets. This book is great and I would recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A Mix of Satire, Sarcasm, and Pure Welsh Spleen
Review: Unsurprisingly, the book is getting very low ratings from those who disagree with Jones's political views. It may also suffer from being overestimated by those sympathetic to those views.

This is a collection of columns written by humorist Terry Jones, beginning in in 2001 shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, and leaving off after Iraq's provisional government was granted limited sovereignty in the summer of 2004. Jones, known for his work with the Monty Python troupe and for his own books (including a controversial scholarly work on Chaucer), is a phlegmatic critic of the American Bush administration, and of the aid and comfort led to the American President by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The book ranges from satire, some of it brilliant; to sarcastic rimming; to editorial spleen (what one Amazon reviewer characterized as "whining").

Interestingly, the book (and its perspective) are strongest with the satirical pieces. "I'm Losing Patience With My Neigbors" was one of the funniest pieces of political humor to appear in 2003, written during the buildup to invasion of Iraq that year. In this, as with "It's Not Really Torture," Jones assumes the character of someone who adopts the logic of American policymakers in his normal relationships - sending up the fractured logic and twisted grammar of wartime in a way that is timeless yet, for our times, very pointed. Don't think it's easy.

The sarcastic pieces, "Bombing For A Safer World" or "Colin Powell's Exploding English" play more for the converted, and while Jones is a very funny and analytical thinker, these columns become repetitive and tend towards commentary we have already heard. Pieces like "Shame On Blair" are nothing more than letters to the editor - respectable enough, but not representing Jones's unusual talent and creativity as a satirist.

My 4-star rating is in acknowledgment of the best that is in this little book, illustrated with political cartoons by Steve Bell and perhaps padded out ever so slightly. It remains a worthy volume of political humor with more than a dash of unabashed left-wing invective.