Rating: Summary: clever, but... Review: Maher says that it's only right for people to be scrutinized at airports because they're Muslim. But Bill, how can you tell? I'm Lebanese and I'm Christian. My uncle's mother-in-law is Arab and she's Jewish. Christian Palestinians do exist. Shock and awe! You can't tell someone's religion by seeing what country they're from. And I have news that may surprise the perspicacious author - not all Muslims are misogynistic killers. Knowledge does win - and I know Bill Maher is very knowledgeable - but I don't think he should have published this book without being more informed.
Rating: Summary: A dipolomat he's not......... Review: .......but he gives an honest, straightforward, and thoughtful expression of his opinions. I was even surprised to find that I agreed with most of it. FAIR WARNING: there's a reason his show was called "Politically Incorrect." He doesn't mince words. His chapter on religion is pretty extreme (that was the one chapter I was uncomfortable with). He actually does address (in one paragraph) the issue of his comment that lost him the show. It starts to feel like all he has to say about this country is negative, but keep going, because at the end he says what he thinks is RIGHT about this country. He's arrogant, outspoken, doesn't worry about hurting feelings, and may go to far at times. He'd make a lousy politician because he'd alienate people and many people don't want to hear brutal, honest truth. But if these kinds of statements stimulate discussions, then that's good--that's what our right of free speech is supposed to do. You don't have to agree with everything a commentator says to find the person worth listening to & the commentary worth thinking about. Sift it; save the wheat & throw away the chaff. I borrowed this book from the library to check it out first; now I'm going to buy it & put it right next to my Andy Rooney books, as salient commentary that I might want to refer back to some day.
Rating: Summary: Great Book! Review: Bill Maher is very funny but also very intelligent and politically astute. I always enjoyed his show on ABC and I currently love his show on HBO. He's one of those people that conservatives hate only because he TELLS IT LIKE IT IS. This is a good, thought-provoking book.
Rating: Summary: Insightful Observations Review: There's one thing I admire about Bill Maher--he's not afraid to speak his mind, and in this book, he let's it all hang out. I don't agree with all of his points, but that's what it means to live in a free country--the freedom to have your own beliefs. Basically, Maher makes some important points. For example, Americans love empty gestures, but don't do anything to solve the problem. Like putting a flag on their SUV, when it would be more helpful if they traded-in their SUV for a sub-compact. As you can tell from the title, most of the issues he discusses deal with the issue of terrorism.One of the great points of this book is that it is illustrated with full color posters done in the style of World War II posters. These really drive home the message. I've had friends who refused to accept some of the ideas in this book, but once they saw the poster illustrating that point, they admitted some truth to the point. A picture really is worth a thousand words. I give this book my highest recommendation. Please read it and see for yourself.
Rating: Summary: Not usually a fan of liberalism, but this book is GREAT Review: I come from the political right and I wasnt unhappy when Mr. Mahers show was yanked. But this book is simply wonderful. Mr. Maher quickly hits at the jugular of what we need to do to fight the war on terror. He understand that airport security should not be PC, and that a 20 year old arab has more chance of being a terrorist then a 80 year old caucasian grandmother. Mr. Maher is correct in his critique of the war on drugs. We are the ones doing all the cocaine, we should fight the war against drugs here in America, not waste time in Columbia. Mr. Maher also points out the important fact that America and our western way of life and our freedoms are better then Islam. Mr. Maher hits the nail on the head in his several essays on why we need to beleive in ourselves and that we need to condemn islam for its dictatorships and for its treatment of women. He makes a great point that the hippie stoner is less dangerous then the stones thrown by islamic fundamentalists. Mr. Maher also understands that Islams violent invasion of europe does not make it a 'religion of peace', he understands that many Islamic countries live in the dark ages and that we americans should not be afraid to be 'cultural imperialists'. Maher points out 'your telling me they are mad at us because they have to eat our crappy fast food'. Good point. Well siad. Definetly the most enlightening paragraph is when Mr. Maher shows how if a woman in Syria, Iran or Pakistan called the police and siad her husband was beating her the police would say 'and your point is?'. Maher condemns the backwardness of these Islamic societies and rightfully so. A wonderful book, it redeems Mr. Maher and brings him back into our media culture, his is an IMPORTANT VOICE for america and for freedom and for condemning moral reltavism.
Rating: Summary: A Reasonable Liberal Review: This review is of the audio CD version. Let me begin by stating that I am not a huge fan of Bill Maher. I disagree with many of his opinions; however, I found this book very interesting and informational. Maher begins his book by calling on Americans to conserve. He feels that the President needs to address the conservation of resources including oil. While I do not necessary agree with the statement that oil funds terrorism,I do understand his view. Being in disagreement with Maher, I still found that his argument was well presented. The remaining sections of the book deal with many views of our country, especially our defensive stance. This part of the book I found to be the most enjoyable to listen to. It was refreshing to hear an admitted liberal defend our stance on a pro-active stance on terrorism. Perhaps my favorite part of the book was Maher's description of our position in the world. The US is a last super-power and whether others want to admit it or not, their citizens admire our culture and are influenced by us. As he puts it, it is ridiculous to think that the most powerful country in the world would not have any influence on others. As Maher explains, every century has a group that carries the stick. Right now it is the USA, but where as in the past others abused their power in conquering others, we have restrained. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in foreign policy or Bill Maher's opinions. I look forward to his next book.
Rating: Summary: Common sense finally revealed! Review: I read this book in just 2 or 3 days and I must admit that it keeps you reading it more and more. Bill goes on to demonstrate that today's gov't is more preoccupied with usual politics and profit making, rather than truly getting citizens involved in helping this country win the war on terrorism. - He shows the importance of oil independence and its role in our current war and general world affairs - He illustrates that our heroes are not given any respect, contrary to what gov't says - He shows our ignorance as Americans of others in the world - And he creates guidelines for what really needs to be to help the country recover from 9/11 and move on His sense of humor and satirical nature gives this book an even more lucrative content, however I didnt give it 5 stars as it featured small amt. of facts and stats and etc. to back up his claims and opinions. Although I do agree with almost 100% of what he says.
Rating: Summary: Maher Plays A Useful Role Review: There are some good thoughts here, but he spoils them with unnecessary sarcasm. A few of the posters are quite catchy; some even reasonably original.
Rating: Summary: Funny, but its the common sense that sells!! Review: The thing about Bill that I like is, BOTH sides gets it. No one is left off the hook and I think this is what separates him from scary Dennis Miller (I actually feel sorry for Miller because he is so angry). But anyway, Republicans AND Democrats feel Bill's furor and I like his brand of common sense. He leans a little to the left right now (he's libertarian), but I think it has more to do with his dissatisfaction with Bush's job performance. There are a lot things I agree and disagree with him on (I do agree with him that John McCain would had been a better president than Bush). But the bottom line is he has common sense and is motivated to speak out on what he sees as a dangerous movement in this country to go backwards. That is why he wrote this book. Get it now!!
Rating: Summary: Good, but not great Review: There is less to this book than there appears to be. Virtually every other page is a modernized version of the World War II era posters like Rosie the Riveter. Some of them are good, but many of them are just dumb. Likewise, Maher makes some highly cogent arguments. He skewers political correctness, advocating profiling instead. Certainly this is a much more logical approach to finding terrorists than wasting resources searching the 75-year-woman with a walker. He also attacks the failure of the war on drugs, our oil-greedy society and those whose egocentrism fails to allow them to understand some of the reasons America is hated. It's a good read, but lacking in supportive evidence, relying mainly on anecdotes and sarcasm. Certainly it's not intended as a scholarly epistle, but it would be nice to see more verifiably accurate content. It's sort of like reading Dennis Miller's rants back when Dennis Miller didn't [stink] and was occasionally funny. Though it does lack the overwrought and obscure pop culture references.
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