Rating: 
Summary: Agree or disagree, Elder will always make you think
Review: Larry Elder is one of very few radio talk show hosts I'm able to stomach. What separates Elder apart from most of his counterparts is his opinions seem genuine. What makes Elder such a breath of fresh air is, agree with him or not, his opinions and ideas are not beholden to one particular political philosophy (though he does admit to being a Libertarian). He does far more "out of the box" thinking than virtual any talk show host I can think of. This is as opposed to talk show hosts of the Rush Limbaugh variety where too often it appears the host is just playing the role of "Conservative Talk Show Host" and just parroting the Republican party platform instead of giving his or her genuine feeling on an issue. While I disagree with Elder as often as I agree, I can honestly say that he has often made me rethink my opinions on various issues, and his ideas are always interesting and well thought out.I found his book to be much like his show in that regard. I agreed with him on some issues, disagreed with him on others, but found it all thought provoking. In particular, Elder's chapter on health care presented some ideas so logical and sensical (like treating medicine like any other business with competition, honest price revelation, less stringent requirements for those who would like to practice more minor forms of medicine like broken bone setting) that I'm sure nothing will ever be done to implement it! There were a handful of times that I was a bit disappointed in Elder. A couple of times he did the annoying trick so many people do when trying to promote a particular opinion, where he would either take the most extreme opposing opinion and use that to argue against, or sometimes he wouldn't tell the whole story on certain issues, leaving out those portions that hurt his argument. As one example, when discussing left-leaning media bias, Elder decries the media for so heavily scrutinizing the Promise Keepers when their entire purpose is just to take responsibility for themselves as fathers and husbands. Elder conveniently leaves out that the criticism was based on the alleged Promise Keeper philosophy that men should be leaders in the household and that women should take a subservient position. Elders larger claim, that the Promise Keepers were held to much higher scrutiny than the participants in the Million Man March, which was led by an alleged anti-Semite, still would have rung true had Elder had told the whole truth about the criticism of the Promise Keepers. There are a few of these types of distortions in the book. Despite these criticisms, I would highly recommend this book to anyone, regardless of your particular political leanings. Not that this book is likely to turn you into a complete "Elderado", who agrees 100% of the time with Elder, but it will at minimum make you look at many hot-button issues in a new way.
Rating: 
Summary: Plain-Sense Talk
Review: If Larry Elder can make so much sense in less than 400 pages, why can't our political leaders in 2-6 years? Elder's arguments are a mix of traditional liberal and conservative views, and are right on the money. You're against abortion? Don't have one. You think outlawing guns will stop outlaws from getting them? Look at the unsuccessful war on drugs. Democrat or Republican? Same old same old. As Sean Hannity has said, no one argues the Libertarian point of view better than Elder. And no one book covers as many controversial issues in plain-sense language like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book...but condescending writing style
Review: I wanted to start reading books by "Black conservatives" to see why they are so hated by most liberals and misunderstood by African-Americans. I've also grown disillusioned with the "black leadership" and tired of the knee-jerk solutions to the "I'm a victim and you owe me" rhetoric. That in mind, I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. Larry Elder hits everything I've been thinking on the head. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing black people blame white people for everything that happens to them, like racial profiling and welfare reform. (Hint: Everyone racially profiles. It's a fact of life in America). Larry Elder carefully constructs arguments that are worth the reading. The only arguments I couldn't agree with off the bat were the ones about media bias and his arguments about Democrats and Republicans are colored by his own Libertarian party plank. Otherwise, everyone should read this book. The Ten things you can't say (and why I think each chapter is brilliant) are:
1. Blacks are more racist than whites.
2. White condescension is as bad as black racism. (True. I've had more people congratulate me on being articulate and poised than on the substance of my argument. Even when they're informed I graduated the top 5% of my high school class, was a National Achievement Scholar, and am a Presidential Scholar at college, they're more apt to ask me where I was born because I don't have an outlandishly thick southern accent and I have a grasp of the English language. Excuse me, did you listen to my speech? Did you have a question about THAT?)
3. The media bias--it's real, it's widespread, it's destructive
4. The glass ceiling--full of holes (True. Right now (Spring 2002), I'm serving as an intern in the State Capitol. I've talked to lawyers on both sides of this argument and, when confronted with the knowledge that a woman will work less years over her life than a man, they still insist that women need equal pay. Get Real! I'm a woman and I realize that line of reasoning means that women will get paid more money for less work. Feminists have complained for years that they wanted equal treatment. Well, do equal work!)
5. America's greatest problem: not crime, racism or bad schools--it's illegitimacy. (Between this chapter and the one on the welfare state, you'll begin to understand the Republican's aversion to welfare. I understand that there are legitimate reasons to have it around (I remember reading an article about a Russian woman on welfare who was using it for a SHORT TIME to feed herself while she went to MEDICAL SCHOOL), but welfare should only be given on a case-by-case basis and for a limited amount of time.
6. There is no health-care crisis (Hello! This country has more doctors than any other country in the world. The only place in this country where doctors are truly needed are in Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, etc. The majority of the chapter deals with prescription drugs and he's right: There are more [inexpensive]drugs here than anywhere else and they're easy to get. Why else are Canadians crossing the borders coming here?)
7. America's welfare state: the tyranny of the status quo (See #5)
8. Republicans vs. Democrats--maybe a dime's worth of difference (You can see his setup to convert people to the Libertarian plank. I don't mind that, but it takes away from his credibility.)
9. The war against drugs is Vietnam II: we're losing this one, too.
10. Gun control advocates At this point, you must be wondering why I'm only giving it 4 stars. Elder's style of writing leaves much to be desired. He treats his reader as if he (or she) is a mindless, far-left wing nutjob in need of serious help. I can think. I do it often and very well. Mr. Elder, if you read this review, please understand that some people will pick up your book and buy it and they don't want to be insulted, as if they are mindless idiots within it. READ THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious and informative
Review: It is not for nothing this book is entitled "The Ten Things You Can't Say In America." I can testify from my own personal experience that a lot of people take great offense when you argue that the glass ceiling is full of holes or that gun control advocates are nice people with blood on their hands. Those examples have entire chapters devoted to them within the book, with extensive documentation to back them. As is usually the case with an ideological book such as this, those who disagree with Elder's arguments typically attack him personally. Indeed, the first chapter of the book details how he's had to endure racial epithets such as "Uncle Tom," "Oreo," or just plain "traitor." It's a shame political discourse has so degenerated, but look on the bright side conservatives: if you get called names, it's usually because your opponents are too cowardly to admit you may have a point. Elder makes many excellent points, worthy of discussion and contemplation. I highly recommend this work.
Rating: 
Summary: Have to agree some
Review: First of all I know this book will make a lot of people mad, but after you get over that and think about the author's opinion, you can't help but agree with a lot of his views. Though a lot of times I found the author arrogant with his oppinions like what he throught was the only right way. I could tell he don't like the Kennedys, he brought out how he thing Regan did way more for black people did the kennedys did. I didn't agree with him comparing the republicans view on prolife vs campus speech codes. He should understand that, it's life. I think his views are interesting, but also be prepared to get mad, especially his opinion that black people are more racist than whites.
Rating:
Summary: Ten Things You Can't Say ...
Review: ...without being the subject of personal attacks. As an obvious point one reviewer apparently missed, Elder's arguments CAN be stated but NOT without raising considerable ire (and vitriol) from those who disagree. Elder's book is written in the style you might expect from a talk show host (I have never heard his program): conversational in a uni-directional sort of way with an occassional tendency to be strident and repetitive. Overall, however, it is a very approachable read with a point by point approach to each of his premises that is straightforward and understandable. As with other books of this type, your opinion of the presentation will depend greatly upon your ideological perspective. Elder's libertarian view is consistent and reasonaby well presented. But if your views tend to align with the far left and you treasure the sacred cows Elder attacks, you will not be receptive his arguments. Some of Elder's detractors say more about his work (unintentionally) than they probably would like. The notion that governmental intervention has, with a few minor exceptions, made this a better world is, in my opinion, laughable. And many of Elder's points are strongly supported by the available data. These include his positions on gun control (Elder frequently cites Lott's definitive work), the "health care crisis", the "glass ceiling", the prosecution of the "drug war", and even media bias. Elder's arguments on some issues (racism and political parties), while based in large part on anecdotal evidence are still well presented and ask questions that need to be asked. One common complaint about Elder is that "he benefited from affirmative action but now wants to prevent others from using it", but he doesn't actually SAY that he benefited from affirmative action (at least in the book) and isn't the knee-jerk assumption that he DID one of the problems with it in the first place?
Rating:
Summary: Another voice of reason.
Review: Elder is a libertarian and presents a libertarian view. I agree with most of what he says, although his arguments occasionally come across as shallow and repetitive. The "ten things" are:
o Blacks are more racist than whites.
o White condescension is as bad as black racism.
o The media bias - it's real, it's widespread.
o The glass ceiling - full of holes.
o America's greatest problem: not crime racism, or bad schools - it's illegitimacy.
o There is no health-care "crisis."
o America's welfare state - the tyranny of the status quo.
o Republicans versus Democrats - maybe a dime's worth of difference.
o The war against drugs is Vietnam II - we're losing this one, too.
o Gun control advocates - good guys with blood on their hands.
An interesting, sober assessment It may offend liberals and jazz conservatives, but it's worth reading no matter what your political persuasion.
Rating: 
Summary: Chomsky, Nader, Moore, Hightower.
Review: commoncause . org
opensecrets . org
Motherjones . com
citizen . org
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Great book to read. It contains many accounts and references of mis-statements and bias in government and the news media all in one place. It also has a large compliment of charts and graphs for further reference.
Rating:
Summary: Larry Elder should run for office
Review: Mr.Elder analyzes some of the most controversial issues in our society, makes compelling and persuasive arguments, and often completely debunks much of the misinformation that is presented by media darlings. The media and some politicians continue to tell us that the problems with regard to racism, sexism, crime, corporate corruption and other liberal wardrum rantings are pervasive and worsening, while the rest of us are wondering why we don't see these things in our daily lives. Mr.Elder challenges these ideas by testing thier data, rebuking thier assumptions and by identifying thier deceit. On occasion, Mr.Elder's talk radio background betrays itself by some unqualified flat declaritives, but that does not invalidate his supporting arguments.
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