Who Let the Dogs In? : A Personal History of America's Most Incredible Political Animals

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Summary: Deja Vu All Over Agin and Agin
Review: Allow me to preface this by saying that I love to read Molly Ivins. She's bright and funny, and I enormously enjoy her humor and the way she can turn a phrase. She's one of my favorite writers. I was happily anticipating reading her latest book. However, it wasn't clear to me from reading the cover blurb that this is an anthology compiled from previously published columns (not something I'd mind as I don't usually have an opportunity to read her work other than in books)... and, in particular, at least some of these essays have been previously published in book form.

So, I'm reading again "How to Survive Reagan", which was originally published in "The Progressive" in 1986, reprinted in "Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?" in 1991, and now reprinted for a second time in "Who Let the Dogs In?" The same is true for essays like "The Word's The Thing" (first published in The Progressive in 1988, and again in 1991 in "Can't Say That".

But, in my opinion, worse yet is that some essays originally appearing under one title have been included in this book with a completely new title.... see "Don't Worry, They're Happy" (originally printed in Savvy in 1989 and reprinted in 'Can't Say That' in 1991), born again in "Dogs" as "Killing the Messenger." There's also an essay comparing Ross Perot to a Chihuahua (voice, not size) that I know I've read in another Ivins book (could be Can't Say That, but I'm done cross-checking for today). I think that's intellectually dishonest. The book doesn't list the titles of the individual essays in the table of contents (only section headings are listed), so a long-time reader who picks up the book to peruse it prior to purchase is probably not likely notice this fact based on the title page, only by sitting down and reading will it start to sound awfully familiar.

I can only recommend this book to readers who are new to Ivins or who haven't read her other anthology-type books, as long-time fans are going to be paying for something they've already read. I'm disappointed at the inclusion of material from other books. I wouldn't have minded inclusion from her newspaper columns, but not stuff that's already been out in books.

One last comment is that the only new material in the book is the introduction. If Molly had even added her comments to the various sections (such as insights/reflections on "The Reign of Ronald Reagan and Big George" or "The Clinton Years", looking back with her twenty-odd-year perspective, it would have greatly enhanced the book. Sorry, Molly, I wish I could have raved about this book like I did about "Bushwhacked."

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Summary: A bulls**t-free feast for the thinking reader
Review: As a longtime fan of Molly Ivins, I found this collection to be a treat in every respect. Sure, there's some repetition from her past books, but I found it refreshing to take another look at articles published long before the horrors of September 11, John Ashcroft, and Shrub. For example, take Ivins' loving tribute to the formidable Texan Barbara Jordan. Just to read BJ's assertion, "My faith in the Con-sti-tution is whole, it is com-plete, it is to-tal," sends shivers up and down the spine. Yet Ivins has added a few more anecdotes about Jordan, one politician and professor about whom it is impossible to say too much.

Ivins told her young editor that the concept of a "career retrospective" makes her feel "slightly dead." To the reader, Ivins' work is still bursting with wit, insight, and just plain fun. Her intimate knowledge of government, based on forty-plus years of reporting from small-town Texas to the vagaries of the White House, gives her a unique perspective and a hilarious way of expressing herself. She can even make us snicker at the Nixon years--no small feat.

In my opinion, "Political Animals" is an excellent introduction to Molly Ivins for those who don't know her work, as well as a delectable read for those who do. You keep going, girl.

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Summary: Molly follows Bushwacked with a broader attack....
Review: I really enjoyed the book. Molly goes after many of famous men over the past 30 years. Beyond the witty critiques on many presidents among others, her message to all to get more involved in politics and current events is important and inspiring. Perhaps more relevant than the critique of those men and the effects of their policies on us today is the continuation of "Bushwacking". Her perspective on Bush since "Bushwacked" is dead on and further evidence of the folly of his policies.

She gives us, yet again, another book that proves more sensible and human than a host of other anti-bush books have. Her wit and good sense is best brought out in audio form. Her lack of mean-spirited style makes one the most approachable books for bush supporters looking for opposing points of view.

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Summary: Old dogs, new dogs, red dogs and blue dogs
Review: Molly Ivins is such a gifted writer and "freedom fighter" -- an unrepentant liberal in an era when "The `L' Word" is supposed to make children scream and grown men flee. "Who Let The Dogs in?" is a retrospective of her many years of writing, focusing on the memorable people - politicians and otherwise - who have earned their few inches on her pages.

Liberal or not, Ivins is an equal opportunity critic who is not shy about savaging lefties. Bill Clinton comes in for special criticism for pandering to the right by booting poor mothers and kids off the welfare rolls. But then, had she known that "Shrub" Bush was waiting in the wings, she might have been a little kinder to ol' Bill. Molly Ivins will have none of the common wisdom that politicians do what they have to do to gain and keep power. She insists in the quaint notion, also found in the Constitution, that government's purpose is to "promote the general welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty." She takes dead aim at any politician whose work is destructive of the general welfare and secures the blessings of liberty for themselves and their kind. In Molly Ivins' world, that means that Republicans and especially neocons take the brunt of her ire.

If you do not share that version of reality, Ivins' writings will make you grit your teeth and harvest your hair. Save yourself the dentist and transplant bills and look elsewhere. But for those who love freedom and justice for all and who support the prudent exercise of government, Ivins is your gal.

Who are the "dogs" in "Who Let the Dogs In?" They are the Clintons and Bushes, Gingrich, Gore, Richards and Cheney. They are also writers and attorneys who champion the rights of the disenfranchised when it is not only unpopular, but downright impoverishing.

Longtime Ivins fans are likely to run across many familiar articles. That may be a problem if you are an Ivins collector. But for those who haven't had the pleasure to read much of her "oeuvre," "Who Let the Dogs In?" is a wondrous romp with the daffy, drooling, doggone pack of hounds that inhabits the American political junkyard.

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Summary: Propaganda At Its Worst
Review: Only Molly Ivins would release a book calling a patriot like Ronald Reagan an "animal" shortly after his death. Shame on Ms. Ivins for her desperate attempt to influence the upcoming election.

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Summary: A whole generation of political characters
Review: Political columnist and Texas liberal Molly Ivins presents a collection of columns gathered from her long writing career that focuses on a whole generation of political characters. She offers her thoughts on many different topics, blending humor with analysis. This collection includes work from three Ivins books as well as some of her syndicated columns.

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Summary: Speaking of dogs....
Review: This book is a very, VERY tired re-hash of Ivins previous rants against George W. Bush, who seems to have become Ivins' own personal White Whale.

It's not even funny anymore...just a little pathetic.

For some, Molly's plodding plucking of her one-note ukelele will be a welcome sound to reinforce their blind partisan hatred. For more fair and open minded readers, every turn of the page becomes an ever-increasing burden.

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Summary: Molly Ivins for President
Review: This is a must read for all political junkies, being a retrospective of Ivins' most memorable articles over her 30-year career of covering politics. She is always an enjoyable read, and her sense of optimism in the face of peril is a laudable trait. And she does think that we are at a time of great peril, but she feels compelled to point out stupidity and corruption and lampoon it-hence, the wit and clear-sighted wisdom that is Molly Ivins.

Christian Conservatives and those who don't vote because they feel that it would not make a difference would be well-advised to read her introduction. She makes the case that Christian Conservatives are being used by the greed-is-good neocons. And for the non-voters, she harks back to a time when people followed politics with greater intensity than people follow sports today--like their lives depended on it-because it does.

I would say, Molly Ivins for President, except we could probably never convince her to give up her noble career as a writer to lower herself into the political arena.

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Summary: Extremely Funny
Review: This is the first book by Molly Ivins I have read. I found it witty, satirical and worth every penny. Her viewpoint is clear; and it is definately liberal. I'm not. Whether you agree or disagree with her viewpoint, her writing is funny and very entertaining.

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Summary: Honest, interesting, funny and on target - 10 stars
Review: What I love about Ms. Ivins is she has a genuine non-mean wit when it comes to criticizing or disagreeing with someone like G W Bush. And this book is no exception. She covers all the political bases so she cant be accused of being just for the liberal side. I am a registered Republican who is more of a Reagan Democrat, who is leaning toward Kerry-Edwards in 2004.

Those she writes about so well and in a way that makes you laugh, wince and think are Dick Cheney, Ross Perot, Ann Richards the former Governor of Texas, John Ashcroft, and Donald Rumsfeld, Jimmy Carter, Barbara Jordon, and Bill Clinton just to name a handful.

While I love the book and highly recommend it, I am also going to buy the book on CD because she is one woman who could read the phone book and make it interesting and hold my attention.