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Crap: A Guide to Politics (Paperback)

by Terry Arthur (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 173 pages
  • Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. (30 Sep 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0826491391
  • ISBN-13: 978-0826491398
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 202,119 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #20 in  Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Hobbies & Games > Gambling > Craps
    #72 in  Books > Humour > Political

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Product Description

Antony Jay, co-author of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister

Behind the jokey title and the lively, entertaining style, Terry
Arthur has produced a devastating exposé of the intellectual confusion,
political deception and economic ignorance that have come to dominate
public pronouncements. His precision of thought, clarity of language and
lightly-worn scholarship have resulted in a book that would have won the
warm approval of George Orwell.


Simon Heffer, Associate Editor, Daily Telegraph

Mr Arthur has presented us with a user's manual to politicians.
Anyone who reads it will not merely laugh out loud, but will be armed
against all future attempts by the political class to lie, obfuscate and
prevaricate. To this end some philanthropist should pay for a copy to be
sent into every household in the land.
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brought to Book, 13 Oct 2007
This book is a wonderfully revealing examination of our political elite, and exposes the self-absorption,cynicism and arrogance that underlie our public life. Terry Arthur's method is simple in principle: politicians on the whole rely on the ephemeral nature of their trade, on the fact that voters have short memories so what they say and do today is tomorrow's fish and chip paper. Arthur, however, doesn't forget, and by the simple expedient of comparing what our leaders say with what they subsequently do he exposes the often squalid reality behind the daily political glitz.

Necessarily he has to focus on the lies, half truths, doublespeak, contradictions and plain nonsense that pass for political discourse in the 21st century and he does it with piercing logic, wit and a bluff sort of humour. What becomes clear under this microscope is that our politicians are indeed an elite, they have more in common with each other than with the people they're supposed to represent and are primarily devoted to self-preservation and self-perpetuation (as Gordon Brown plainly showed us over his election calculations-and the lies by which he attempted to delude the people he serves).

Another theme of the book is the damage we suffer from creeping statism, again by all parties. It remains an unexamined assumption in the 'thinking' of the right as much as the left (categories that Arthur cogently argues would be better ditched in favour of a Big Government-Small Government spectrum), which continues inexorably to erode individual freedoms while encouraging centralism, corporatism and regulation.

Despite its demotic title the book is a robust and serious comment on our current politics; it's expressed with the lightest of touches, without rancour or sanctimoniousness (plenty of that among his victims) and I recommend it highly.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An incisive view of those in "power", 25 Nov 2007
By Mr. P. L. Cowley "Peter Cowley" (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This gem of a book is unique in two respects. Firstly it exposes "crap" (direct quotations from politicians and many others) in twelve chapters arranged according to the nature of the "crap" rather than the subject matter; "crap" on education, for example is to be found in several chapters (Newspeak Crap, Contradictory Crap, Illogical Crap, Cheeky Crap and so on). Secondly it maintains a running narrative between the quotations which makes for very easy reading as the "crap" unfolds. It is also very funny especially if you like a trenchant, irreverent, and folksy style. The author has clearly spent many years researching the book and ensured the quotes are all within the last couple of years - however the attraction of the book is the commentary between the quotes which is direct and incisive and guides the reader to the inescapable conclusion that once a person has reached a position of power and influence, truth and logic take a back seat.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars IN PRAISE OF FREE MARKETS, 18 Jan 2009
By Paul Haines (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Terry Arthur's book is ostensibly about the rubbish spoken by politicians and political commentators, and its primary aim is undoubtedly to make the reader laugh at the seemingly never-ending stream of inanities they produce. In this regard, the book is a success: indeed, how could it fail, given the wealth of material provided by the political classes? Moreover, the book allows readers to join in the fun, with the selected quotations serving as memory prompts so they can recall their own gems of political gibberish. It is an effective antidote to the sugar-coated pills that politicians encourage, and increasingly force, us to swallow.

This book will certainly appeal to anyone who has more than a passing interest in how we are governed. This should surely be all of us, even if we feel that none of the political parties on offer serves our needs: such disaffected persons may find a sense of affinity with Terry Arthur, who admits in his introduction that he did not vote in either general election in 1974 and has not voted in one since. Whether as a consequence of this or not, his observations exhibit no bias for or against any of the main political parties in either the UK or the USA. Rather, it is the political system that we currently have to endure that is the object of his ridicule.

I would recommend this book if it does no more than make you laugh, although potential readers are warned that their laughter may turn to frustration and rage by the end as a result of the relentless exposure of politicians' capacity to manipulate and distort for their own interests. However, the real power of this volume is the way in which Terry Arthur uses the nonsense spoken by statist politicians, and their supporters, to promote the cause of free market liberalism.

Support for free markets has been declining since the days of Thatcher and Reagan, although true believers will say that the enthusiasm was only lukewarm even then. As Terry Arthur observes: "As I hope I have made clear, "economic liberalism" does not describe the UK experience for any part of the last 100 years." Now, post credit-crunch, it is difficult to find any public expression in favour of liberalism.

Yet those who still believe will find their free market batteries re-charged by this book and its insightful observations: why supposed free markets aren't free at all; why Keynesian economics should have been "consigned to the dustbin of history"; and why those of us living next to factories (or airports for that matter) would be better off in a free market. Adam Smith's "invisible hand", the guiding principle of all free marketers, may sometimes seem too good to be true, and harsh times can make doubters of even the most ardent advocates: this book helps sustain, and even restore, conviction.

And for those of you that don't believe in free markets? This is as good a place as any to start your conversion.
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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh, but it's no joke
Terry Arthur seems to have improved on his earlier book, 95% Is Crap. This time - and I agree - he seems to think that politics is now ALL crap. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Eamonn Butler

1.0 out of 5 stars Crap: A Guide to Politics
The clue to this book is the first word of the title. This is a truly dreadful effort. I searched hard for the promised laughs, and even with the overuse of the exclamation mark... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. M. Heywood

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh while you weep
Terry Arthur's book Crap: A Guide to Politics is an hilarious run through the rubbish spouted daily by politicians and the sinister dysfunctional legions of Big Government. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mike Denham

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