Dude, Where's My Country?

Rating:
Summary: A liberal view of the state of our country
Review: Unlike STUPID WHITE MEN, Moore has footnoted all of his sources and his statements are backed up with facts (Some say they are shaky). Moore uses humor in his book that makes you realize that it is sad the way we are lied to in this country. Not only under Bush, but under a lot of different people and situations that have made this country weaker in morals than ever. Saddam was not a direct threat to the United States, but North Korea CAN be a threat because Korea has ADMITTED to having NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Iraq, on the other hand, does not. It did in the eighties because the US supplied Saddam with materials to make a nuclear weapon, and he used it on his own people. Iraq no longer is making any big weapons of mass destruction. But wait, Iraq has oil, and if we free the people under the US flag, we might get a great deal! North Korea has no oil. Well, we don't have to worry about KOREA'S weapons of mass destruction.

Moore points out a lot of things that make me shiver because there are so many secrets in this country.

Look, I can see both sides and understand both democrats and republicans. We just need to be INFORMED about what our country is doing. Maybe not via this book, but WE NEED TO KNOW.

Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC!
Review: I couldn't put this down. Michael Moore's 7 Questions for George Bush should be the Democrats' blueprint for the upcoming presidential election. He has done a concise job of raising disturbing questions about our current administration. Hmmmm...wonder if this review will secretly place me on some sort of Homeland Security "watch list."

Rating:
Summary: A negative 1000 stars rating, please?
Review: Unfortunately, I did not have enough fun antagonizing this book when I recently wrote an article on it for my school paper (have to stay formal and all that). So let me review:

I think it's adorable that throughout the book, Moore pretends he was just like all of us, totally glad that Hussein's brothers were killed, among other things. Don't let this fool you. He says things like this not because he really means it, but because he wants us to think he was just an ordinary guy who was struck dumb at the dishonesty of our country. But did he ever care about things conservatives cared about?

Chapter one is atrociously clever. Moore launches into a theory about royals from Saudi Arabia being behind all of the attacks, and that Bush is trying to cover it up. He talks about how angered the FBI was after the attacks, because normal investigative procedures were not followed. He never questions anyone from the CIA about this matter. Of course, when Moore discusses Bush's State of the Union Address later in this fairytale book, he feeds upon its information. Clearly, both sides of the story are not being told here.

Like all of the other chapters in this book, chapter two-"Home of the Whopper"-is not worth reading, but I'll warn you about it anyway.
You see, unlike Al Frankin, Moore is a fan of calling Bush's statements "Whoppers" instead of lies. OK, at least the guy has sources to show that what was said was definitely shady (of course, some of Moore's sources are also worth questioning). But when he talks about how "original" the "whoppers" are and the "Whoppermaster himself," the word gets just a little old.

As we move past that chapter, we come to Michael Moore's nightmare about children digging for plastic in the year 2054 because there's no oil left. He relays the bleak history to his great-granddaughter, "Anne Coulter Moore." The stupidity speaks for itself as this writer attempts to be funny.

Do you own a car? Do your parents have a lot of money? If so, you're a terrorist.
This is the dream world of Michael Moore. According to this man, rich people "have to pay for their actions." What actions, my I ask? Actions involving greed and corruption, or actions of hard work and intelligence that happen to bring the money rolling in because this is the United States of America? Anyway, if you want to read about big businesses' relationship with terrorism, read the end of chapter 4. If you're stupid, it's one hundred percent believable.

Chapter five shows how Moore likes to concentrate on how selfish America is, and in chapter six he speaks as God. Enough said there.

It's also fascinating the way Moore distorts history-or "forgets" to mention certain things. When discussing the mistakes made throughout history, it's the U.S.'s fault in cases like Vietnam or the Bay of Pigs. When it comes to giving Iraq supplies for fighting Iran, he blames it not on simply the U.S., but specifically on the "Reagan/Bush White House." I guess Moore's been so traumatized by recent events that he rarely remembers the names of our Democratic presidents (except the more moderate Clinton) when pointing fingers.

I must say, if there's anyone I feel sorry for, it's not "liberal" Moore. It's those people that read his book and tell themselves with sobs in their throats and sentimentality in their voices, "Oh my gosh, this is SO true!" If you like humor, this could be the book for you. If you want to sit smugly and feed your hatred of George Bush, this is DEFINITELY the book for you. If you don't know anything, don't have an opinion and want to feel important, just repeat stuff you read in this book and you're set.

If you DO have a brain and are simply curious about this book, read it!!! Then you can listen to people who actually believe this stuff and realize that they don't know anything; they are simply repeating--in some cases, verbatim--what Moore says. That's a hell of a lot more amusing than the book itself.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Lord of the Rings, Great Fantasy
Review: Prior to this book, Tolkien's trilogy stood out as arguably the greatest fantasy book of all time. No longer. This book may have replaced LOTR. For conservatives and liberals, this book will entertain. Liberals can enter into a surreal, Matrix-like world of their liking (few actually want out); while conservatives can be reminded that all it takes for evil to prevail, is for good men to do nothing. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Mindless Rants, Unfounded Propoganda
Review: Couldn't finish this book as it was so incredibly trite. Filled with exaggeration and outright fabrication, I can't imagine who gave it 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: A Common Sense Book
Review: I'm not going to take sides with either conservatives or liberals in my review. That really doesn't help the rest of the readers. I'm focusing more on the content of the book itself and the context for it. That said, here is the review:

First of all; is it a good book? Yes. It is a very good book. Why? Because in informs while it entertains. That has been the key element in Michael Moore's success as a filmmaker and as a social satirist. Instead of drowining his arguments in dry facts and specialized language accessible only by scholars, Michael Moore addresses his arguments in a language that is accessible to everybody and he delivers his message in a way that actually keeps the reader interested.

What's the book's message? Primarily that the war on terrorism has been used as an excuse to put many of American citizen's most important rights (including the bill of rights) at risk, and that unless something is done about it the situation will get worse. Yes, his main target is the Bush administration and yes, he does believe the Bush administration is not telling America the whole truth about many alarming issues ranging from the ENRON scandal to the invasion of Iraq. His way to do this is by presenting facts on the issues with humor and in a way that's accessible and entertaining.

Does the book have problems? Yes. It does have technical problems. The main problem is the lack of footnotes in most chapters. Only chapter one has footnotes. The rest of the references Michael Moore uses for the book are put together at the end of the book in a "sources and references" section but without an actual numbering process. Michael Moore's reason for this, according to the book, is to keep the footnote numbering from distracting the flow of the reading. I personally don't feel that's a good excuse to avoid using footnotes. I agree with the fact that most scholarly journals do not have an aesthetic concern and therefore footnotes are mandatory (when reading an essay or a journal you're looking for information, not for the aesthetic of the writing) but Michael Moore's book is suffiently serious in his content to merit the actual use of foonotes consistently even if it means disrupting the flow of the reading.

That aside (which could easily be fixed in a second edition) the book is solid. None of the facts Michael Moore writes about in his book can be disputed and he certainly can't be accused of lying or libel. And what makes his writing solid is the fact that he's not taking his information from obscure sources that could challenged on the grounds of validity (or lack of it). No; his sources are mainstream publications such as Newsweek, Time, The Washington Post, the New York Times, and even the White House's website.

And by the way: for those of you who feel that Moore is simply bashing conservatives please be aware that there'a a section in his book devoted specifically to criticize liberals, bash the Democrats, and acknowledge the positive qualities he does find in conservatives. To some liberals this section may look blasphemous, but it shows that Moore is not interested in siding neither with liberalism nor conservativism, but with common sense.

Perhaps the biggest question regarding the book is what will happen to it after the 2004 elections. Will it become a fleeting success that was relevant only in the here and now of 2003-2004? Or will it become a historical document preluding the reasons for the results of the 2004 elections?

One last comment: Moore is not Chomsky. Don't expect him to be a seasoned essayist or an academicist. Moore is the everyday layperson trying to reach the everyday layperson. That's what Moore is a master at. Because if you think about it, often scholars are not capable of reaching a large audience because of the thick, nearly impenetrable language they use. But Mike Moore's language is simple, straight to the point and accessible to just about anyone, facilitating the effective dissemination of his message. That is perhaps the book's more successful feature.

Rating:
Summary: Its good!
Review: Obviously the man is able to stir up what everybody wants to hear. This is a good book about a liberal take on the USA. If you are liberal you will like it. If not, then you will probably not like it. Moore does make some good statements and certainly it is worth reading. I am looking forward to his new movie.

Rating:
Summary: Good Politics; Lazy Writing
Review: I agree with Michael Moore's politics. I just feel that "Dude, Where's My Country" contains way too much "filler ranting" as I like to call it. "Stupid White Men" seemed to contain many more frightening facts and touched on a broader range of issues. If you've read "Stupid White Men," I suggest upgrading to something like Chomsky. This is a bit light in the content department.

And for the conservatives who keep posting dummy reviews just to change the book's overall review score: please get a clue. You are entitled to your opinion but when you come off as being lazy and stupid, you only perpetuate the stereotype that conservatives are lazy and stupid. Present your point of view responsibly or no one will bother listening to it.

Rating:
Summary: Dude, Where is this Country Going??
Review: I thought that Mr. Moore had said everything he could about the Republican Party in his last book, the Best-Seller "Stupid White Men." . . . I was grossly mistaken. This book took up where the last one left off, outlining the hypocrisy of the Republican Party and the cowardice of the Democratic Party in the fact that they drift further and further away from their voting base. . . Thus democratic politicians, as a result of their inherent lack of a backbone, have become de facto Republicans.

This book separated itself from "Stupid White Men" in the fact that it recognized democrats as the lesser of two evils and that "Bush the Appointed" has to be removed from the office in which he was given, not elected to. Moore continually reflected upon the idea that the lies we are told by the right wing and the Bush Administration are much more sinister lies than that of a certain philandering former president. (Though Moore does regularly make reference the people President Clinton "killed")

Referred to as "Whoppers," Mr. Moore outlines in great detail the gross number of lies that were spoon-fed to the American people in order to gain the support that lead the nation to the invasion of Iraq. Aside from the lack of proof of there still being weapons of mass destruction, he reviews the ideas that there was absolutely no connection between al Qaeda and the now ousted leader of Iraq. He also talks at great lengths about the corporate involvement in the Bush Administration and how it is influencing the policies that are being made. Moore tops it all off with an accusation that the Bush family, G.W. included, have had ties with the Saudi Royal Family for a considerable amount of time and that particular regime has never been mentioned as having any part of the "axis of evil" even though a majority of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

Overall, in my opinion, this book was much more focused than his previous efforts. It was a very quick read and I have retained more of it than his previous works. He also had a great "recommended readings" list.

epc

Rating:
Summary: Yet another excellent book by Michael Moore
Review: Very well written, engaging, and WELL documented. He certainly supports his assertations with documentation, much of it coming from mainstream press. The only chapter that was a little over the top, was the one in which he had the apparent "voice of God" speaking. Other than that, I highly recommend this book to those who are looking for alternative views, other than what is heard on the predominately Neo-Conservative mainstream media. Fans of Limbaugh, Coulter, and O'Reilly: run Forrest!