Very, very funny...., 7 Nov 2003

Franken is more than a match for the darlings of the American far-right (Ann Coulter etc.) and he has a sense of humour too!
Admittedly he does give the Clintons an easy ride, but I didn't expect him to give an impartial account of American politics.

The book is packed with useful facts on everything from Fox News bias to the Bush administration's disastrous foreign policy.

There are also some hidden gems in the form of cartoons scattered around the book, a refreshing change from the text only approach of other US satirists.

Finally all readers should remember: If you're looking for a serious examination of US politics buy something by Gore Vidal. This is only satire. Enjoy it!

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Very funny, 25 Jan 2005

By	J. E. Davidson (UK) - See all my reviews

The problem with books of this type (for readers outside the US) is that we are not that familiar with subject matter - I have no real opinion about whether the US media has a liberal bias although if the UK media is anything to go by it seems very unlikely.

Franken states that the primary of objective of the book is to be funny; he succeeds admirably although he does on occasion descend into pettiness and name calling. I certainly laughed hard and often as I read the book.

There are some very good chapters in this book. For example, you get a good sense of Franken's heart felt indignation in the chapter about Paul Wellstone's funeral; the exposure of push poll tactics is horrifying, the chapter on how Fox News makes you stupid is hilarious; Karl Rove, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly come in for the kickings that they richly deserve.

On the negative side: for me, his unconditional love of Bill Clinton got a bit too much at times and he is guilty of constantly criticising the conservative agenda while not really discussing the issues with the liberal agenda. However, these are minor quibbles; they did not detract from my enjoyment.
I think that the comparisons to Michael Moore are slightly unkind to Franken. Overall, he has less of an agenda than Moore who I regard as a polemicist, he is funnier and more precise; it is like comparing a scalpel to a sledgehammer.

Very funny, highly recommended particularly if you have a strong interest in US politics

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