The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader

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Summary: There are also over 6,000,000 reasons...
Review: ...and ways you can f#@% yourself too! What the @#%$ , if you hate Mikey Moore so much then why the #@%*& did you purchase his #%*&! book? *%^$# you if can't stand him, guess what? then don't buy his @%$^& books or go to see his @!$%^&movies! I swear if i read one more $%^*&@ 'one-star' review...

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Summary: Michael Moore Bibliography + F911 Script!
Review: As you are all well aware Michael Moore has Bibliographies in his books but since Fahrenheit 911 was a motion picture documentary he could not do one for that type of medium. Well guess what? Mike has not stopped his policy of backing up his facts, hence The F911 Reader which does just that.

A familiar theme we hear from right wing extremist groups is that Michael Moore is a liar - that most of what he says is made up - not real - his conjecture - his lies. This to me comes as a bit of a surprise because somehow these readers (and I use that word with caution in this context) must have missed the 25% to 33% bibliography content in his latest post-911 books. Maybe the fact is that some people can not run a finger to that little number in the back pages and read the resources... maybe some of them can not read? Or... it is more likely that they just have not read his books at all? Do they really believe that Mike does zero research or something? The answer to most of the hate rants is in the bibliographies if one right wing extremist bothered themselves so much as to actually read on past the final chapter.

"bib·li·og·ra·phy"

1. A list of the works of a specific author or publisher.
2.
1. A list of writings relating to a given subject: a bibliography of Latin American history.
2. A list of writings used or considered by an author in preparing a particular work.
3.
1. The description and identification of the editions, dates of issue, authorship, and typography of books or other written material.
2. A compilation of such information.

Got that????

If anyone has any doubts as to anything then why not doubt the source? NEVER will a right wing extremist ever point to the source material as corrupted or incorrect. It is always about Moore being wrong like he does it from thin air or something. As soon as I hear people attacking Moore, for being Moore, and because it comes out from Moore's gob, I really have to question the orientation of the mentality that seems to not be able to grasp where ALL of this stuff is actually coming from. The closest we get is in some pseudo anti-Moore (yeah Anti-Moore) home movie that tracks down some war vet who was captured by Moore in the spur of moment saying something maybe he shouldn't have said and now wants to change his tune (isn't it so strange how that moment of reality is not considered real when compared to a pre-prepared statement read by the vet who disavows what he said previously... in fact the reality of ALL of these little moments is what makes Moore's work so interesting.) or some newspaper that claims it didn't want its paper mentioned in Moore's work. Let's face it - Moore is bad for the military industrial complex as a whole. Nobody who makes money out of killing is going to have much love for this man.

Anyway the Reader does what all of his other works have done before - giving a full scale resource and bibliography foundation to F911. The truth is that when reading a book like this you know all to well that a Michael Moore hate group is actually based on the fact that is far easier to attack a fat man than it is to actually do the work... to actually DO THE WORK and READ and FOLLOWUP on the Bibliographies. There within the confines of a quick internet scan for related documents will reveal the proper orientation for one who is to critique Moore's work and not the man himself. This book is yet another testament to the fact that the person actually doing the work is Moore himself. Moore is an avid researcher who had no problem uncovering what you are not allowed to see or know. He then goes that step forward, seeking out his sources, filming them, and putting it for us up on the big screen. It is all about the facts.

This book contains the actual F911 screenplay so it is a must for anybody who wants to read the documentary. The next part of the book is the resources and bibliography - the backup - the evidence. The latter part of the book is then writings about the film itself, including critiques, letters or praise or contempt before finally showing us some funny pictures and shots of cinemas outside F911 screenings.

As someone who is interested in films, F911 is actually something unheard of in the annuals of film making, and is the reason why it won Cannes, but reading through the later part of this book really helps expand on why. I think anybody interested in film making should really get this book to nitpick the fundamental principles behind the making of this movie, its production value, the final distribution fiasco, censor ratings, rating enforcement, and how cinema screenings are affected by all of this. For me this was the gem of the book.

Anyhow the bottom line is that this book is just yet another reason why attacking Moore for being fat is hell of a lot easier than actually DOING THE WORK. Do the work and attain the goal. See things for what they really are. It is as easy as that.

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Summary: Moore Organizes the Script and Background Material
Review: From some comments on this book it is clear that many have no idea what this book is about. This book is not written by Michael Moore per se. The book is essentially the screenplay for Fahrenheit 9/11 followed by many articles on the movie, comments, e mails and cartoons. All in all it is a surprisingly good book, well organized and effective in presenting the information.

Moore selects a number of articles and puts them in one book. He has divided the book into 6 parts:

1. the screenplay about 130 pages long, then the rest in 5 equal parts covering about 300 pages total in medium-small font, these being
2. the background material including the theory of the writer Craig Unger regarding the Bush family,
3. the public response to his movie including many e mails received by Moore,
4. reviews by professional journalists,
5. more articles and comments in major papers, and finally
6. cartoons on Moore and the movie.

Many people who have never seen the movie or have researched Moore think that he just runs around randomly bad mouthing America. That is far from the reality. The underpinnings of his movie F-9/11 are taken from other sources including the book House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger. Unger wrote this bestseller and has written a number of articles for Vanity Fair, New Yorker, Esquire, and was the editor or deputy editor of two other publications. Basically he tells about a strong Saudi-Bush connection where the families are linked by many past financial deals and companies - something that is in the public record. After 9-11 Bush was in a conflict of interest situation because of his Saudi business ties and Moore made a movie using the Unger information. Both Moore and Unger play up the fact that many Bin Laden relatives and House of Saud family members or influential Saudi business people with possible Al Qaeda connections were given a quick exit from the US by special jets after 9-11, while virtually all citizens including organ donation flights were grounded.

The present book attempts to tie together the movie, the Unger publications, general responses, and what domestic and foreign publications thought of Moore's movie. Interestingly many papers thought the movie was a lot more moderate and accurate than Moore was often depicted in the cable news and talk radio circuits.

All in all a surprisingly good book.


Rating:
Summary: Pure Tripe
Review: I forced myself to watch this flick, and read through this book. Anyone who thinks that this bloated tub of crap is courageous and a Patriotic American for releasing this garbage is as delusional as he is. The only thing glowing about the movie and book are the inaccuracies which are so blatant they can only be meant as a way of intentionally deceiving his sheep. The only redeeming quality of the movie is that he has finally been exposed as the fraud that he has always been, Bowling was just as deceiving and repugnant. I will however thank him for doing more to re-elect George W. Bush than any conservative supporter could have. Through your hatred and pure lunacy, you helped save America from John Kerry. For that I offer my most sincere Thank You. Idiot.

I will give credit where it's due however. Michael Moore is without doubt the most successful war profiteer in the history of the US. I guess that's worth selling your country out for.

Just as a side note, I would never think of contributing one penny to this traitorous moron, both the movie and book were downloads, and not worth the space on my hard drive.


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Summary: Film/DVD with references....
Review: I'm notorious for defending the written word over films/documentaries. I do the opposite here.

Because I had already written a review of the film, I couldn't write one for the DVD which I found better than the film for the following reasons:

I was among those who lined up to see this op-ed piece on its opening night. Frankly, I had a little more faith in the American people then. The theatres were sold out all over the place. I even saw it a second time a few weeks later. Then, for discussion groups and the like, I purchased the DVD (from Amazon.com who sent it so quickly. Thanks!)

I'm compelled to note that many of the critical reviews speak in Coulterese: Moore is critical of the Dubya regime so he's anti-American. It's hard to get more Stalinist than that. And many of the arguments are ad hominem, e.g., that Moore is fat, not the best lookin' guy in history. If those are the best arguments the critics can come up with, Michael has little to worry about.

I too am aware of the bones that some of Moore's former employees had to pick with him. They may very well be true. But that doesn't detract from the quality of his movie making.

Well, as I said in the critique of the film, Moore never denied that he was making an anti-Bush op-ed. I believe that's what he's said from the beginning.

As to the challenges to the "facts" of the film, You might want to look at "The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader," yes, also available from Amazon.com. That book has, over and above the entire movie script, the sources of the points made in the film. (You can also find them in the books of those Moore interviewed for the film--ALSO available....well, need I say Moore???)

My nephew is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. He commented that everything in the film was taken out of context. I challenged him toward one item. "Well, yeah..." Then another. "Well, yeah, but..." Then another. "Yeah...well, it's obvious Moore was just out for the money." Words of wisdom from the contemporary right...

What makes this DVD better than the film at the theatre is some of the bonuses. For instance, Moore had interviewed Arab-American comedians. I suppose that may have minimized the seriousness of the film, e.g. the many Iraqis and Americans being killed in the present "war." But that provided a demonstration--and some wit--as to how they've been treated particularly since 9/11.

The film has the unforgettable display of the American troops mistreating Iraqi prisoners--things with which any human being should be disgusted. The DVD elaborates on that with an interview of the journalist who discovered such criminal activity. And it included more footage, for example of a disabled Iraqi--with forearm cruthes no less--being mistreated by young American troops. So the problem is WORSE than Moore showed in the film.

And there other bonuses, all of them adding to the substance of the film.

Many think the issue is all but dead with Bush's election in '04. No, it isn't. Because the future will expose more and more. Heaven knows we Americans may have to answer for what is exposed. This film and its bonuses for years to come.

Buy it, watch it, sponsor discussion groups. It's well worth it.

The book has the entire movie "script" along with references, sources for the points the film made. Actually, that gets a little combersome, hence my giving it only 4 stars. The film is depressing enough to watch, without reading it over and over again.

But the book also has commentaries and reviews of the film that are clearly worthwhile. One comment on them that may to some seem petty. I'd read the review of the film in "In These Times" before the book came out. It's a good review, except that it refers to the recruiters in the film as Air Force recruiters. Actually, they were Marines. It's a petty thing maybe, but there are lots of ideological differences between the Air Force and the Marines. I wish that minor error had been detected.

Well, it's still a good book. Keep it in your library particularly for those who deny the veracity of the items covered in the film.

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Summary: USA is one of the biggest dictatorship in the world
Review: I'm sorry to say that but I remember when I was living in NY seeing two anarchists beeing spanked by four policemen inside Penn Station, NY, just because they were distributing some fliers that questioned the legitimacy of the american voting system. The beating was as brutal as it would be in any third-world dictatorship. The fliers were confiscated and the two men arrested. That was the year of 1988. 16 years have passed and nothing changed: you do have a dictator as president, who employs the same brainwash routines used by his kind. Going to war is one of them. Patriotism is another one. And all of that in the name of goodness and God. The most absurd thing is not to realize that the terrorists only exist because of the american foreign policy over the years. Why did they blow WTC out, not the Eiffel Tower? The answer is as simple as it is absurd people keep voting for him hoping that USA can be free of terrorism. Collecting hate from all over the world is not an wise policy towards this goal. Moore's works are trying to reveal the evil inside and all around Bush. I suggest him making a movie about how the world sees USA today. We can't be wrong: we are billions against 59,459,765. And we have 49% of the american voters on our side. All of that makes Farenheit 9/11 the most important movie and book of its time.

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Summary: Destroying trees in the name of effluvium
Review: Michael Moore is an ogre, but not in a lovable "Shrek" kind of way; more like in the smelly, sweaty, creepy Gerrold Nadler kind of way. Calling Moore delusional is to give him too much credit, because it denies his evil intent. I watched his movie, and thumbed through this book. The movie and the book are craftily compiled, deceptively presented, and maliciously emitted clouds of effluvium. Moore is about as credible as Art Bell but not as sincere. His conspiracy theories are shakier than the San Andreas fault and if his nose had the same qualities as Pinocchio's, it would already be scraping the moon. The way he "creatively" edited his material is beyond sleazy. Michael Moore is a cretin who loathes America and all that it stands for. His blame-America-first and hate-the-heartland ethic may play well for cultural despots in Cannes, in Pyongyang, in Tehran, and in American Universities, but for the rest of us, we can see that the "emporer" is naked...and it ain't a pretty site. One comfort: Michael Moore did more to re-elect George W. Bush as President than even the Swift Boat Veterans. Moore's single-minded hatred and campaign of lies energized and angered a significant portion of the American electorate. For that, we thank you, Mr. Moore.


Rating:
Summary: A Mixed Bag
Review: This book is a useful but unnecessary appendix to the (excellent) film. The bulk of this book is taken up by the script of the film, something that I suspect few readers will have much use for. There are also several short articles and a collection of e-mails to Moore, both of which don't add much that can't be found at various websites. Perhaps the most (or only) useful feature is footnotes indicating the sources for most of the key claims in the film.

Disappointing overall, and certainly lacking any of the compelling energy of the film, but useful if you really need to refer back to sources for the film's assertions.

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Summary: Outstanding exposure of George W's many failings
Review: This excellent book gives the script of Michael Moore's historic film `Fahrenheit 9/11'. As Mike LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle commented, "In the 90-year history of the American feature film there has never been a popular election-year documentary like this one." The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Millions of people across the world have now seen the film.

The book includes the sources and evidence for the film's statements, some of the comments that Moore received from the public, and some related articles by various writers.

Moore tells us about the botched war against Al Qa'ida, and how the US state was completely unprepared for the attack, even though bin Laden had declared war on the USA in 1996. He details how the Bush administration, although repeatedly warned of an imminent attack, prepared no counter-attack and took an amazing two months to launch a military response.

Moore reminds us that the official 9/11 Commission found `no credible evidence' of any link between Iraq and Al Qa'ida. Vice-President Dick Cheney responded to this Report by repeating robotically that there was `overwhelming evidence'. President Bush added helpfully, "The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and Al Qa'ida is because there was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qa'ida."

Moore denounces Bush and Blair's diversionary attack on Iraq, a country which has never attacked the USA or Britain and has never threatened to attack the USA or Britain. This unnecessary war of aggression has cost the USA more than a thousand soldiers' lives, and $166 billion, so far.


Rating:
Summary: Scary Truth
Review: This is more or less a bilography to where Michael Moore- got all the information for the movie- and it's scary that he tells us where he got his footage and the simple truths that made a national hit.
No one now can claim that the movie is not based on facts which is why I assume Moore made the book. Read the book along with seeing the movie and you'll find yourself scared and petrified of what to expect next.