Rating: 
Summary: A Very Generous Three Stars
Review: I sat down with this book on my lunch break at the book store I work at and flipped first to the section on Bill O'Reilly, thinking that I would eventually read the entire thing. What I found, however, turned me off to the rest of the book entirely. Al Franken is a decent writer whose ultra-partisan views blind him from considering the reasonable objections his assertions beg. For example, he includes a quote where Bill O'Reilly says it's inapproprate to assign college students the Koran to read when their nation is at war with radical Islam, comparing this to assigning American students Mein Kampf during WWII. Then, over a year later, when a Muslim confronts Bill with comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf, Bill denies it. This is one of four "lies" that Franken charges him with. Only it isn't a lie. Bill never compared the Koran to Mein Kampf- he compared the modern-day assignment with a hypothetical assigment in the past, in order to illustrate why he thought the selection was inappropriate. Any reasonable person could see that. Al Franken could not. The other three "lies", taken at face value, seem more likely: Franken shows that Bill lied about registering as an Independent; that he *may* have lied when he said that his old television show won a Peabody when, in fact, it won a Polk (though this *could* have been an honest mistake- a possibility Franken doesn't entertain); and that O'Reilly exaggerates his "humble" origins. But none of these lies, exaggerations, whatever you want to call them justify putting his picture on the cover of a book dedicated to liars. I asked myself after finishing this section if it was worth my time to read more. What made me decide "no" was Franken's juvenile tone and bland writing. When I opened this book, I was hoping for someone as entertaining as Ann Coulter- who is damn funny if you aren't offended by hypocrisy and hate. But while Franken has an axe to grind, his tone is that of a high school student telling off his parents. Even the titles of his two best known books ("Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" and "Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them") give us the sense that their author is arrested, somehow, in his development. Why not name this latest screed "Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and All of Their Friends are Poopy-Heads"? Unfortunately, one gets this sense while reading the book at well. He refers to Bill O'Reilly as "Bill O'Lie-ly". Oh, that's clever. For the love of God... Al Franken has all the neuroses of Michael Moore (chief among them being narcissism and a need to be feel enlightened) and one tenth of Moore's significant talent. I'm giving his book three stars because I only read one section of it and I must admit that it is *possible* that the part on "O'Lie-ly" was a rough patch in an otherwise entertaining text. Unfortunately for the usefulness of this review, I can't bring myself to find out if this is the case. Still, from what I've read, my advice is to rent this book from the library, or avoid it altogether. Franken isn't worth the hype.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Stuff, But We Shouldn't Have to Hear it from a Comedian
Review: I saw Al Franken on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart a few weeks ago, talking about this book. Jon asked him a long, drawn-out question about why it fell to Al Franken to write a book exposing the lies and half-truths of the right-wings pundits. After all, Jon asked, isn't the mainstream media policing itself and tearing all the Limbaugh-Hannity-Coulter crap to shreds? After this long, 30-second, serious question, Franken paused, looked away for a second, and just said, "no" (that the media wasn't doing its job). This one-word answer sums up the frustration and delight that come with reading Franken's book. It is a well-written, funny, nicely-researched, and angry volume. For those who read progressive news on a regular basis, there is nothing new here. But it's disconcerting that it takes humorists to get people's attention regarding our most important public issues. If the American people (I balk at using the word "citizens," because of general American idiocy) would pay as much attention to serious journalism as they do to the latest flavors of Doritos, then maybe Al Franken and his ilk could go back to show business where they belong. But I do recommend this book. Buy it, read it, and then loan it to someone else to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Al Franken....Pundit or Prophet?
Review: I saw that Bill O'Reiley's henchmen over at Fox News (Unfair and Unbalanced) hated this book bad enough to try to sue for prior restraint. Considering that the classified documents known as the "Pentagon Papers" weren't injoined from publication, I had to know exactly what Bill was so afraid of. Now I know...the truth. This book is the quitissential retort to the relentless barrage of right-wing distortions, lies and outright intimidations that has been sprewing across America like the final scene in an adult film. In a very concise package, Mr. Franken (sounds like Mr. President, doesn't it) takes on that shrill harpy of the right, Ann Coulter (better known as McCarthy's Love Monkey). He also skewers Fox's own bloated windbag of petulance (Bill O'Reilly) and that camera friendly disfuntional, Sean Hannity (A man whose only two qualifications for his job are first rate hair and third rate ideas). This book is a must read for anyone sick of the deceptive, sound-bite driven politics that have destroyed the American economy and security since the Thief-in-Chief took (the) office.
Rating:
Summary: Truth and our Hero Al
Review: I saw the famous Book TV show on which Al Franken, Molly Ivens and Bill O'Reilly (with Pat Schroeder) ad-libbed the most exciting thing ever seen on that show. My jaw dropped... God Bless Molly Ivens, Al Franken keep it up, and O'Reilly- well, perhaps he should take his own advice, and, you know... shut it!
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately, after reading through this ...
Review: I should have known the author would not be very objective in his attempt at showing a fair an balanced view of the political spectrum. If I could give this a 0 star, I would. Mosts of his attempts at "exposing" liars are pointing out times when someone had mispoke or made a mistake somewhere in their research, instead of seeing it as it is, he'll dramatize it as a deliberate attempt at deceit. However those that would be regarded as more to Mr. Al Frankfooter's side of the political spectrum for the most part, placed in a more positive context. The Self Irony in the title should of warn most intelligent folks of this books content. I can not imagine why anyone would believe the title anything other than oxymoronic. After reading this book, the title "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right
by Al Franken " on top should be renamed "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at Al Franken". It seems to make more sense.
Rating:
Summary: FACTUAL INACCURACIES!!!! did not find one!
Review: I simply deplore american politics, i hate it's high brow attitude towards the rest of the world, whereas it ,itself is filthier than a slum in calcutta. this book was along the same line, but i did not find a lot of factual inaccuracies(that's why i gave it a four star, and the humor was crisp too), unlike Slander or No spin zone which are mindnumbing, boring and full of inaccuracies. the irony of this book is subtle. people with strong affiliation with the extreme right(that includes, Pat robertson, FOx Network and John Ashcroft) will not find this amusing. otherwise this is a rather contemporary sattire though directly marketed to the democrats and liberals, can be very entertaining for centerists too. I enjoyed the book, and though i think this guy Al franken should write something more serious, i like his humor(though i thought the Kharap Juta part was NOT funny, neither ironic, but SAD) i would buy another of his books. and hopefully Ann Coulter will be able to respond to her factual inaccuracies(downright lies sometimes) and come out with a book solid as this one in FACTS.
lastly those of you have been bashing this guy or the book, my question is PLEASE FIND ME ANY FACTUAL INACCURACIES! i would like to see someone here come up with one, and MADE UP FACTS are NOT facts, they are called fiction(note o'riley). so pardon my directness but keep your politics to yourself and try to be fair, or is it too much to ask.
OMI
Rating:
Summary: Masterful!
Review: I sincerely hope this book begins the deconstruction of the political shape this country has taken on the molting right-wings of intellectually dishonest conservatism. This book is a masterful work! Al Franken takes us on a humorously cathartic tour through the current events, politics and economics of the conservative right that should enrage anyone who is paying attention.
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Sandman
Review: I sleep better at night knowing that Al Franken is alive and sentient. Al, please remove that muzzle before the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Why do people read this stuff?
Review: I spent my time a while back to read Rush's book because I knew he was an idiot and wanted to be informed. Ditto here. Why can't we throw these guys on an island somewhere and let them argue by themselves- I am tired of it all. Neither idiot represents the average American, so why do they pretend to?
Rating:
Summary: So what?
Review: I suffered through 300+ pages and found myself asking, "And?" I can only recommend this book to anyone who wants to know exactly what is wrong with the left today. I won't argue about the discrepancies Al Franken and his all-white "research team" found. www.frankenlies.com covers that well enough. I do believe, however, they dredged the river for nothing. Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, and are biased? No kidding. Really? Astounding. This revelation is worthy of a book? I should change jobs. The difference is they all admit it and are even proud of it. I'm biased, too. So are you. Neither Rather, Jennings, or Brokaw would admit they were bias if someone were holding a gun to their heads. The conservative slant these people showcase offsets the liberal slant you hear on ABC, NBC, and CBS everyday. Someone in the Bush administration gets confused and refers to "rows and rows of crosses" when the headstones at Arlington Cemetery are actually rectangular and Franken thinks he has uncovered a foundation-rocking scandal. You woke me up for that? Sorry, Al. I'm hitting the snooze button. Besides, on the tops of most of those little rectangular headstones a cross is engraved which readers could've easily seen had Al included a better photo in the book. But, hey, he had a point to make. No need to confuse people with the truth. What I read was the same hatred being parrotted by liberals everywhere- "We can certainly do a better job- we just can't say how, exactly. Oh, and we REALLY hate George W. Bush!" That attitude has lost them the House, the Presidency, and the Senate. And they will keep on losing unless they come up with some REAL solutions rather than a long list of people they hate. Personally, I don't think a "misunderestimated" Texan mangling syntax compares with an elitist egomaniac ignoring Al-Qaida for eight years and letting North Korea build nukes while he ordered troops in a military he wouldn't serve in himself to invade a Balkan country that never attacked us and was no imminent threat to us. I digress... Al Franken and liberals completely miss the whole point. Say what you will about our leadership- conservatism is winning right now because our faith isn't in the men wearing the suits but in our ideals. The whole left-wing movement is wrapped in trivial nonsense. Here's an example of liberalism in a nutshell: While we are trying to fight terrorism, the ACLU is making its own contribution to the effort by getting the cross removed from the seal of the city of Los Angeles. That should help! I'm sure we'll all feel safer when they succeed. I'm happy I borrowed this book from a liberal friend rather than contributing to anymore of Al's foolishness. Another positive result is that it provided some insight into the mind that created that "Stewart Saves His Family" piece of crap. If this is the best Al and his ivy league toadies can do it merely reaffirms my convictions and proves someone wasted a lot of money when they cut that check to Harvard.
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