Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right 
asked by jerseymike on October 31, 2006 5:25 PM
Having previously dissected the factual inaccuracies of a single bellicose talk show host in Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, Al Franken takes his fight to a larger foe: President George W. Bush, the Bush Administration, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and scores of other conservatives whom, he says, are playing loose with the facts. It's a lot of ground to cover, as evidenced by the 43 chapters in Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, but the results are often entertaining and insightful. Franken occupies a unique place in the modern political dialogue as perhaps the media's only comedy writer and performer who is also a Harvard fellow as well as a liberal political commentator. This unique and vaguely lonely position lends a charming quixotic quality to adventures such as a tense encounter with the Fox News staff at the National Press Club, a challenge to fisticuffs with National Review Editor Rich Lowry, and an oddly sweet admissions visit to ultra-conservative Bob Jones University (with a young research assistant posing as his son when Franken's real-life son refuses to participate in the charade). Less useful are comic book dramatizations of "Supply Side Jesus" and a fictitious Vietnam War story featuring the numerous righties who, Franken intimates, improperly avoided service. And Franken's criticisms of conservative talk show hosts Sean Hannity, O'Reilly, and columnist Coulter, while admirable in their attention to detail, fail to shed much new light on people who have built careers on broad arguments and relentless self-aggrandizement. But Franken is at his best, and most compellingly readable, when he backs off the wackiness and the personal grudges and writes about more personal matters such as the political circus surrounding the memorial service of the late Senator Paul Wellstone. But even on these more serious topics, Franken's wit is still present and, in fact, grows sharper. In a time when much political discourse is composed of rage and shouting, it's refreshing that Al Franken is able to shout in a witty manner. --John Moe
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Humorous look at right wing talkers and the lies they tell. The book also looks seriously at the disaters imposed on the country by the Republican administration and Congress.
reviewed by bigdv on November 15, 2006 11:38 PM
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First of all: You HAVE TO VERIFY ALL YOUR FACTS!!! Al Franken advises his readers not to take him at his word, and you should take this under advisement.
This book addresses the statements by various conservatives that have most angered him, and his least favorite personalities, and their utterances. A lot of Al Franken's arguments are well made, but you have to be a careful reader. The statements he attacks are of various degrees of objectionability, ranging from spin, to outright falsehood. To a true believer, what a conservative says will sound perfectly valid, while everyone else will hear a clear distortion of the facts. On the whole, Al Franken is convincing.
Best of all, of course, is that Al Franken is one of the funniest people alive today. The fact that I agree with his politics by and large, is a great plus.
Arch
This book addresses the statements by various conservatives that have most angered him, and his least favorite personalities, and their utterances. A lot of Al Franken's arguments are well made, but you have to be a careful reader. The statements he attacks are of various degrees of objectionability, ranging from spin, to outright falsehood. To a true believer, what a conservative says will sound perfectly valid, while everyone else will hear a clear distortion of the facts. On the whole, Al Franken is convincing.
Best of all, of course, is that Al Franken is one of the funniest people alive today. The fact that I agree with his politics by and large, is a great plus.
Arch
reviewed by bookworks on November 22, 2006 5:58 AM
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I decided to read this book after I heard so many consertive pundits bash it. I noticed their "refutation" of it consisted primarily of personal attacks on Mr. Franken. After reading the book, it seems this is their standard M.O. I was delighted by his spirited defense of Al Gore (A.K.A Compulsive Liar VP.) Why didn't someone in the media do that during the election? The last 8 years might have been different.
reviewed by flow on November 29, 2006 4:57 PM
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This was one of the best books that I have read in a really long time. I just loved the chapter on Ann Coulter and the inaccuracies in her book. I choked down her book "Treason" last summer to see what the other side had to say. I found it to be a mostly flamboyant rantings of a mad woman. So, I was really interested in the Addendum to Ann Coulter Chapter Chapter. It completely exposed her manipulations of the truth, blatant falsehoods, and out of context quotes that she is famous for espousing in her books and her footnotes. It still amazes me that so many people jump on her bandwagon with their eyes completely blinded.
I just loved the chapter he wrote on Bob Jones University. I grew up in a strict, super conservative Christian home and school where Bob Jones University was crammed down my throat on an almost daily basis. I had always rebelled against those beliefs and reading that chapter had me in stitches. I always knew that school was insane and reading about his Bob Jones adventure made me smile.
Overall, this is a really great read. It is informative without being boring and pushy. I have always loved Al Franken's books and this one is excellent. His style of writing is aimed at the everyday person and not stuffy and elitist like some political books out there.
I just loved the chapter he wrote on Bob Jones University. I grew up in a strict, super conservative Christian home and school where Bob Jones University was crammed down my throat on an almost daily basis. I had always rebelled against those beliefs and reading that chapter had me in stitches. I always knew that school was insane and reading about his Bob Jones adventure made me smile.
Overall, this is a really great read. It is informative without being boring and pushy. I have always loved Al Franken's books and this one is excellent. His style of writing is aimed at the everyday person and not stuffy and elitist like some political books out there.
reviewed by tubi on November 29, 2006 6:41 PM