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pickleballlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book years ago and still remember how it had me rolling on the floor laughing my butt off! Al Franken is one sharp cookie!
sloatsj's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't want to read this. My step-father had it and I thought "what a stupid title and what an ugly cover" and not living in America I knew next to nothing about either Franken or Limbaugh but still I laughed like crazy.
jennifyr's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Read for a book challenge to read a best seller from when I was 18. Amazing how much, yet how little has changed in politics.
lisa_mc's review against another edition
3.0
Al's humor gets a bit puerile, but he is really funny, and makes some excellent points about entertainment masquerading as news (as in, you can't just make stuff up and present it as the truth).
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
2.0
Of the three Al Franken books I've read, this one is my least favorite. It's also one of his earlier books, before Lies and The Truth, so maybe he just hadn't hit his stride yet, politcal satire-wise.
Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations has a great title, mostly because it's to TRUE. How it differs from his other books that I've read is that it is a series of independent essays compiled into a collection. And while I enjoy his sharp wit and scathing humor most of the time, some of the stuff in this book seemed a little mean-spirited, even for Franken.
He spends an inordinate amount of time on Limbaugh's weight, which doesn't seem fair. Of course, I could just be a little sensitive in this department myself. But where Franken really shines is in his analysis of all the crap that Limbaugh says. This is where Franken's talent truly lies: in exposing Limbaugh (and others) for the outright liars and dangers to society and free thought they are.
The book doesn't focus strictly on Rush Limbaugh, though time and again throughout, Franken comes back to him. It also talks about some of his experiences participating in various political rallies and campaigns, which are fun to read. Franken really knows how to make an impression, I can assure you.
There was one bit that made me snort. There's an essay titled, "Stop This Man Before He Kills Again," in which Franken address the absurd claims that the Clintons are murderers. Franken was at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and shook hands with President Clinton. He says, tongue firmly planted in his cheek, "Had I known at the time that the man was a murderer, I would never have shaken his hand. I have never knowingly shaken the hand of a killer. Once I did a fund-raiser for Pol Pot, but that was before I'd seen The Killing Fields."
All in all, an okay book and another good example of Franken's sharp wit and ability to use humor to cut through all the crap. I must admit, however, that the book left me a little cold in the end and gave me the feeling of being a little too mean.
Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations has a great title, mostly because it's to TRUE. How it differs from his other books that I've read is that it is a series of independent essays compiled into a collection. And while I enjoy his sharp wit and scathing humor most of the time, some of the stuff in this book seemed a little mean-spirited, even for Franken.
He spends an inordinate amount of time on Limbaugh's weight, which doesn't seem fair. Of course, I could just be a little sensitive in this department myself. But where Franken really shines is in his analysis of all the crap that Limbaugh says. This is where Franken's talent truly lies: in exposing Limbaugh (and others) for the outright liars and dangers to society and free thought they are.
The book doesn't focus strictly on Rush Limbaugh, though time and again throughout, Franken comes back to him. It also talks about some of his experiences participating in various political rallies and campaigns, which are fun to read. Franken really knows how to make an impression, I can assure you.
There was one bit that made me snort. There's an essay titled, "Stop This Man Before He Kills Again," in which Franken address the absurd claims that the Clintons are murderers. Franken was at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and shook hands with President Clinton. He says, tongue firmly planted in his cheek, "Had I known at the time that the man was a murderer, I would never have shaken his hand. I have never knowingly shaken the hand of a killer. Once I did a fund-raiser for Pol Pot, but that was before I'd seen The Killing Fields."
All in all, an okay book and another good example of Franken's sharp wit and ability to use humor to cut through all the crap. I must admit, however, that the book left me a little cold in the end and gave me the feeling of being a little too mean.
marryallthepeople's review against another edition
1.0
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11574640
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11574640
plaidbrarian's review against another edition
3.0
This is sort of like reading old Bloom County strips. It's still mostly funny, and occasionally some of the observations still apply despite the fact that they're a dozen years old now. But for the most part, a lot of the stories just seem to end up in "oh, yeah, I kind of remember that" territory, which is a constant reminder that topical humor always has a pretty strict sell-by date.