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Rating: 
Summary: It's About Time!
Review: Any decent person will get a kick out of Russ Kick's book. I know "decent" is broad--but hey, doesn't everyone believe he is? (I'm a guy, so I use "he." Use the pronoun that suits you. Live long and prosper.)I'm a professor with thirty-five years experience, but it's taken the last year and a half to show me that the decit of politicians and preachers I've accepted with a yawn is also the "ethic" of many college and university administrators. Yeah, I'm an idealist--but cynical. Still, I was shocked to learn that my colleagues were liars. Kick tells us about others among the "responsible" who lie, about what, and how. It's as much fun as watching reruns of Tricky Dick's farewell; but it's sad, too. Buy it, read it, and don't be afraid to speak up next time some authority figures lies. You'll feel better about yourself and know that you really are decent.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent bathroom reading.
Review: If you're looking for earth-shattering news, this is not the book for you. While there were a couple of eye openers, most of the information is well known if you've kept up on current events.
Some information is noteworthy. The fact that people are killed or injured from prescription medication is not news. Tragic? Yes, but it's not a secret. It is something that has been studied and needs to be addressed.
Some information is pointless. Carl Sagan was a pothead? Why am I not supposed to know that? More importantly, what's the significance of that? Drug and alcohol use is hardly a rarity among great thinkers.
Some information is questionable. Someone in the goverment considered biological warfare in Afghanistan? I'd be surprised if someone didn't at least think of that. Creativity is not bad in itself, but the execution of the idea may be. Considering that Rumsfeld and Rice put the kibosh on the idea, I'd say the government acted correctly, and thus, no shocker here.
There are definitely a few winners in here. Not a great book, but okay to have in the bathroom for some short reads.
Rating: 
Summary: Light on the unknown
Review: In his latest book, Russ Kick brings together more little known or unknown facts for public consumption. While some of these tidbits are not surprising, they are all interesting, and luckily he includes some references for additional reading. Some of the more interesting were about the real Ten Commandments, the actual legal obligations of the police, the power of juries, and the other massacres of college students during the Vietnam conflict.
Rating:
Summary: Verrrrrrry Interesting
Review: No, it's not a book that's majorly in-depth, and it won't reveal anything new to anyone at all seriously interested in things the mainstream media doesn't tend to tell us, because they'll know most of the facts already. But that isn't really the point of the book, is it? It's 50 things that most people - the most people who mostly get their information from the mainstream media, that most people - don't know about. And some of them are pretty darn important. Like the US making plans to provoke terrorist attacks as part of the war on terrorism; juries right to judge the law, not just the fact; the obligation (or rather non-obligation) of the police; medical error and prescription drug death rates (amazingly high). Other facts are more amusing and interesting than they are important, but even the entries that seemed rather obvious to me (the rather duh fact that advertisers exercise massive control over the media, for instance) contained interesting figures, facts and research. If you've already read up on these kinds of topics, this book isn't going to add anything much to your knowledge. But it's a great little book to have sitting in your bathroom or on a table in a waiting room for other people to leaf through!
Rating:
Summary: This List is a Hit
Review: Russ is kicking some serious butt these days, opening a veritable flag draped coffin full of worms for all the world to see, as well as his excellent detective work via his facile use of Adobe Acrobat Reader to reveal the New York Justice Department's attempt at censoring info. on their very own website. Having made the front page of the New York Times with these grass root efforts, more and more of the mainstream media is paying attention to the growing clout that renegade activists such as Kick are getting. In Russ's book, 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know, the editor of such works as Abuse Your Illusions, You Are Being Lied To and Everything You Know is Wrong, shares his journalistic knack for unearthing some of the more unsavory factoids of life and comes up with a Top 50 list that corporate media and our perpetually dumbing down government would rather keep under the lid if it could. While paging through 50 Things, I learned that the government can take my house and sell it to private corporations, that the police are not legally obligated to protect me (which really gives a new meaning to the motto 'We Serve and Protect' and that prescription drugs kill over 100,000 people annually. I also learned that electric cars have been around since the 1880's. (...)
Rating:
Summary: This List is a Hit
Review: Russ is kicking some serious butt these days, opening a veritable flag draped coffin full of worms for all the world to see, as well as his excellent detective work via his facile use of Adobe Acrobat Reader to reveal the New York Justice Department's attempt at censoring info. on their very own website. Having made the front page of the New York Times with these grass root efforts, more and more of the mainstream media is paying attention to the growing clout that renegade activists such as Kick are getting. In Russ's book, 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know, the editor of such works as Abuse Your Illusions, You Are Being Lied To and Everything You Know is Wrong, shares his journalistic knack for unearthing some of the more unsavory factoids of life and comes up with a Top 50 list that corporate media and our perpetually dumbing down government would rather keep under the lid if it could. While paging through 50 Things, I learned that the government can take my house and sell it to private corporations, that the police are not legally obligated to protect me (which really gives a new meaning to the motto 'We Serve and Protect' and that prescription drugs kill over 100,000 people annually. I also learned that electric cars have been around since the 1880's. (...)
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure!
Review: Take it from someone who has been running a progressive Web site for five years--this book packs plenty of surprises even for those of us who regularly explore well beyond the sterile transmissions emanating from the mainstream media. At under $10, this book is an excellent gift for folks who remain complacent and unduly optimistic about the steadily degrading state of affairs in the United States. The best part about the book is that it includes impeccable sources for each of the "50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know". That way, readers don't need to take the author at his word. They're welcome to verify the details for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking but . . .
Review: This little book was an interesting read, however, it should be taken with a grain of salt. One of the fifty things you're not supposed to know is that 10,000 people die from legal drugs every year. I would have prefered a follow up that explains 13,000 die because they can not get access to treatments that could save their lives because the FDA said "no, not until it is approved." All in all it is a good coffee table book.
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