Rating: 
Summary: A Simple Point of View
Review: Govenor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, uses this book as a tool to discuss what is on his mind and to explain the opinions behind his policitcal views. This book is written in a manner that a sixth grader could read it and have a good bit of understanding. If you can put aside the whining feeling you get at times when he talks of the media, the book is a refreshing look at what I suspect is not far from the way the majority of Americans feel.
Rating:
Summary: Jesse "The Mind" Shows His Stuff
Review: Governor Jesse Ventura's first book "Ain't Got Time to Bleed" told of his adventurous past and the circumstances that led him into politics. His new book "Do I Stand Alone" takes a hard look at the connection between politics and media along with many other societal issues. In a sense it could be described as a road-map for continuing democracy in the 21st Century.Ventura's common sense style is well-suited to not only pinpoint the essential problems in our society, but also to offer manageable solutions. He provides an intricate appraisal of the Amendments to the US Constitution. It is a section that should be required reading for new age students who no longer study the roots of government in the United States. It is not without a few flashpoints, probably the only ones that will be quoted on TV news shows. The Governor of MN takes some jabs at the two party system and returns a few salvos to the media -especially the local flatfoots who have done their finest to search for some disparity in his message. But this book is mostly a comparison between today's perceptions and the original intents of our country's founders. All in all, it is less about individuals and more about the philosophy of governing. Combine that with Ventura's vision for a better America and this book should strike fear into the heart of the two party system, the corporate power-brokers, and the degenerative media. Jesse "The Mind" Ventura is here to stay.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful but poorly written.
Review: Governor Ventura has a unique insight to the world of politics. His observations are straightforward and ring of truth. For example his claim that the media likes to take philosophical arguments and skew them into some sort of "battle" between personalities -is so true. Whether you agree with him or not I highly recommend this book; It's time that another viewpoint is heard.
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Summary: Another Political Wake-Up Call
Review: Governor Ventura's new book ranks up there with the works of Mr. Larry Elder and O'Reilly as a wake up call to a new generation of voters. In "Do I Stand Alone ?" Jesse "the Mind" Ventura states his position on a number of issues. His positions are all well thought out and based on fact. He also lectures on voter responsibilities and flaws of of current bi-partisan system with the gridlock and extremist positions that it produces. Governor Ventura also discusses one of my favorite issues, campaign finance. Overall I found this book to be a well written entertaining read that informs on both the Governors stand on issues and areas that he feels should be reformed in the government (both from the inside and the outside ).
Rating:
Summary: Another Political Wake-Up Call
Review: Governor Ventura's new book ranks up there with the works of Mr. Larry Elder and O'Reilly as a wake up call to a new generation of voters. In "Do I Stand Alone ?" Jesse "the Mind" Ventura states his position on a number of issues. His positions are all well thought out and based on fact. He also lectures on voter responsibilities and flaws of of current bi-partisan system with the gridlock and extremist positions that it produces. Governor Ventura also discusses one of my favorite issues, campaign finance. Overall I found this book to be a well written entertaining read that informs on both the Governors stand on issues and areas that he feels should be reformed in the government (both from the inside and the outside <voters>).
Rating: 
Summary: A Wrasslin' Man
Review: Having grown up in Minnesota, I recently returned for the first time in many years, to visit my sister in Minneapolis. I've been curious about Minnesota's choice for governor in the last election there, and so during my stay i tried to ask a number of good Minnesotans about the matter; how would they explain the choice of this stage wrestler? How would they rate him as a public servant? Not one of the people I talked to, not a single one, would admit to having voted for Jesse Ventura during the last election. For me, at least, trying to find an admitted Ventura voter in Minneapolis was, possibly, a bit like trying to find a living soul during the Great Depression who admitted to having voted for Herbert Hoover for president. Almost every person I met tried to explain the last election result by claiming Ventura was the unfortunate casualty of allowing 18-yr-olds to vote. It seems that their governor has caused some slight bit of embarrassment. I guess the collective idea about the last election was that the 18-yr-olds and the gov. are at basically the same maturity level. I didn't believe this explanation for a minute, however. I just can't buy it. After all, most 18-yr.-olds are more mature than the old Body.I've now changed my opinion of Minnesotans, somewhat. They are a different, kookier sort of Body politic (pardon the pun) than I recall from my early days there.
Rating: 
Summary: Good - but no "Gibraltar Conspiracy"
Review: I enjoyed the book but it left wanting me more. Many of his criticisms were shallow and not fully informed - I much preferred the book, The Gibraltar Conspiracy, (available on Amazon.com) written by an aide of his, Jack Uldrich. The Governor, if he wants to pursue higher office, would be better off if he concentrated his time on articulating a positive vision for the country rather than telling us the problems with the media and the two-party system.
Rating:
Summary: Everything I expected
Review: I must admit, being the avid reader that I am I did NOT read this book but instead listened to the three-hour audio book as I drove home from a vacation with my wife. I have a lot of collegiate training in the fields of philosophy. Ventura, who is quite impressive with his practical knowledge, is really just applying the laws of logic to political beliefs in his book. In the last quarter of his book (Side 2 of tape 2), he simply goes through the irrelevance of giving "ad hominem" ('to the man') attacks, "ad populum" (to the population) attacks, red herring (irrelevant) arguments and common fallacies of logic used by many in debates. He makes many points, giving examples of each kind of logical fallacy, and when he is finished all I could do was agree with him. I must say, with 7 years of university training in theology/philosophy Ventura is right up there with any famous philosopher. I especially enjoyed his insights on how the news media notoriously twists things around by making invalid points to "prove" something that is really just wrong. I would recommend this to anybody, especially those who are pursing philosophical training.
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Summary: Philosophy at its practical best
Review: I must admit, being the avid reader that I am I did NOT read this book but instead listened to the three-hour audio book as I drove home from a vacation with my wife. I have a lot of collegiate training in the fields of philosophy. Ventura, who is quite impressive with his practical knowledge, is really just applying the laws of logic to political beliefs in his book. In the last quarter of his book (Side 2 of tape 2), he simply goes through the irrelevance of giving "ad hominem" ('to the man') attacks, "ad populum" (to the population) attacks, red herring (irrelevant) arguments and common fallacies of logic used by many in debates. He makes many points, giving examples of each kind of logical fallacy, and when he is finished all I could do was agree with him. I must say, with 7 years of university training in theology/philosophy Ventura is right up there with any famous philosopher. I especially enjoyed his insights on how the news media notoriously twists things around by making invalid points to "prove" something that is really just wrong. I would recommend this to anybody, especially those who are pursing philosophical training.
Rating:
Summary: The Loner with Two Faces
Review: I read Jessie Ventura's autobiography, I AINT GOT TIME TO BLEED, as I was preparing to teach a class on state government. I found absolutely nothing worth sharing with my students. Despite Ventura's potentially interesting personal story, I found the book to be a fluff and puff. So I was reluctant when I picked up the audio book version of Ventura's next book, DO I STAND ALONE. This book has considerable upsides. To begin with, it is more focused than the autobiography. That one briefly touched on different periods in Ventura's life, this one focuses on politics. Better still, Ventura doesn't gloss over state politics, or the fact that he is the governor of a particular state (Minnesota). The particulars are interesting, and his increased fluency in the ways of state government gives Ventura more credibility as a commentator. Ventura writes in two modes - he writes to YOU about YOU, and he writes to "the people" about "them." He is stronger and this book is more useful when Ventura sticks to the former mode. Ventura's philosophy of government is libertarian. He believes that many public problems can't be solved by government, but can only be truly addressed by the public. His conception of what "the public" is seems clear when he's in his "YOU" mode. "YOU" have to do this or that in order for US to overcome this problem. For instance, Ventura writes forthrightly about parenthood - laying the responsibility on the listener for choices he or she may make in this regard. "If you want something cuddly to keep you company, buy a hamster, don't have a child." This was Ventura's funniest line, and it embodies his "take responsibility" message. This is rare for a politician - most seek to promise solutions to problems. Ventura outlines whole areas of public debate as being within the public's ability to solve, and not within government's. He's using his bully pulpit to challenge his listeners. He even raises a few tough issues, such as the important but often boring topic of unicameral legislatures. This is responsible. But Jesse has two faces. He frequently stops challenging and starts blaming. In this mode, he writes about a faceless, seemingly monolithic "people" as in "We the people." As fare as I can tell, anyone who disagrees with Ventura is not part of "the people," but rather some sort of special interest. On the one hand, Ventura rails against the apathetic, but then he also rails against every manner of active citizens - the politically active, the partisan, the members of groups organized around shared interests. In this mode, Ventura spouts off unoriginal "new" ideas, often mistaking common sense with blind simplicity, and passes off old saws about politicians versus people. The nearly monolithic media is against the people, too. (Ventura's exceptions to the monolith include such paragons of journalistic virtue as Chris Matthews and Geraldo Rivera - I'm not joking). Also weakening the book is Ventura's writing style. He often writes in generalities, which seem all the less interesting compared to his occasional specific examples. He names names early on when discussing certain state legislators and how they embody what he sees as the faults of the system - this is interesting. Yet he doesn't criticize one reporter by name in his entire chapter on the media (which he almost writes of as if the word were singular). Finally, Ventura's woe-is-me routine (hinted at by the book's title) gets very boring, very quickly. DO I STAND ALONE works well as a book on tape. I suspect that the audio version is edited, but it flowed smoothly, and frankly I wouldn't have been interested in reading much more. Venutra's interesting voice also ads to the experience.
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