Rating: 
Summary: a dose of common sense...
Review: please... if you can't give it up for Maher, then you are either a stupid conservative or a hopeless liberal. For those of us in the center who can see how silly the fringes are, this book says everything we wish we could say.Keep it up Bill...
Rating: 
Summary: comosophy
Review: When a comedian becomes a philosopher you get "comosophy." But I enjoyed the pictures.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, incisive, but not particularly funny
Review: I have mixed feelings about this book. I'm not familiar with most of Bill Maher's work, but it's hard to deny that he brings a fresh perspective and a high degree of personal honesty: He says exactly what he thinks, doesn't hedge his bets, and frankly doesn't care a whit if you're shocked or offended. In that respect, I wish we had more pundits like him: Unconcerned about political correctness or left- or right-wing "party lines," and perfectly willing to call 'em as they see 'em. On the other hand... this book simply isn't very funny. Idealism aside, I bought this book because I thought it was political humor. I expected to see a clichés lampooned, a few of the dumbest political plays of the last few years exposed, a few sacred cows tipped. This book contains all of those things, but it just isn't funny. Bill Maher's acerbic wit makes some cutting observations, but out of the entire hundred-odd pages, I only found one or two moments of real humor-- certainly not enough to justify the book's price tag. If you want to laugh at some of the more fatuous moments of the post-9/11 world, this book simply isn't for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Solid
Review: I listened to the audio version of this book when a friend plunked it on my desk. I have watched both of Bill Maher's shows, and while they are sometimes informative I don't particularly like them. On the show Bill does get some points across occasionally, but too often he and the panel are going for the joke ... with the new, longer format of his HBO show this is slightly less the case and people are able to speak a bit more. But more often than not questions are neither asked or answered, and people just bicker for effect. The book and audio tape do away with this, allowing you to hear what Bill has to say. For the most part it's intelligent and well-presented. The humor is mostly miss (Bill can't seem to get comfortable with the format), but a few jokes are funny. More importantly his thoughts are on-point. I find it rather funny reading the other reviews of the book. People either seem to love it or hate it. Strangely, those who hate it say stuff like "who does this guy think he is?" or "that won't play in Middle America!" The funniest ones are the people who try to attack Bill for not being educated enough about politics to say what he says. Strange that these people don't realize how stupid their position is: America was founded on the notion that any person can critique the establishment. Politics and the state of the union are not hallowed grounds only to be visited by those elected to office. Certainly Bill is not a politician - he is too willing to listen to fact and make decisions on the fly to be one - but that is the point. Politics are asinine. Politics are ruining this nation. When you call yourself a Republican or Democrat, you have surrendered your identity and your brain. It's like the Jim Jones crew sucking down poisoned Kool-Aid. Neither party has all the answers, and we should not be electing people because they give the appearance of knowing what to do. We should expect them to tell us what they plan to do. We should not fear intelligent leaders who challenge us. Why in the Hell do we elect people who claim to be "ordinary" in the first place? Doesn't the role of representative for the people by definition require someone who is extraordinary? Political parties are an outdated notion. They worked when issues were much simpler, when people needed to cleanly group their ideas to get things done. Now the world is so much more interconnected, so much more complex, that it requires the ability to change with the times. Bush - or Clinton - should not be able to garner 90% support by saying obvious things like "We need to stop terrorism in the homeland". Any idiot knows that. What we need is a person who is willing to look at the facts and make the hard decisions necessary to stop terrorism here and around the globe. One of the points Bill eloquently addresses is our inability as Americans to look at ourselves critically. We are so unwilling to believe that there might be a reason that people don't like us - because that might require us to give up something. And for years we have been brainwashed by Madison Avenue and our own hippified "everyone is a winner" society into thinking that we deserve everything we want, when we want it, on approved credit. Thus Americans buy gigantic, gas-guzzling SUVs and cover them with flags to show their patriotism ... when the money they spend on gas goes directly to Bin Laden. And these people become livid when you suggest that their way of living is harmful, because our own President lies to us that dope smokers are the ones funding the terrorists. It would be funny if we weren't living it every day. I heartily suggest that everyone looking at this book's summary either borrow it or buy it, just to expose yourself to something different. Hate it, love it, who cares - hear a different opinion in your life.
Rating:
Summary: Bill Maher hits one out of the park
Review: Bill Maher is a comedian, but this book definitely is not meant to be comedy. Rather its a very serious political commentary sprinkled with his unique sarcastic wit. For those with short attention spans you need not worry. Bill doesn't mince words here and it doesn't read like a technical manual or a James Michener novel so you should be able to finish the book within a few hours. Each separate point he makes is illustrated with art that is reminiscent of World War II propaganda posters and is remarkably effective at conveying the message.
Put away your own personal biases when reading this book, because the opinions voiced in it cross the boundaries of liberalism or conservativism. It is a book aimed at the social pragmatist, a person who realizes that you can't pigeonhole whats right and wrong into only 2 idealogical camps. Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Quick, funny, sharp and true
Review: The basic argument here is that we lack leadership, that we have to create leaders, that we have to demand true leadership and call out those who don't provide it. We have to demand that someone take an unpopular stand (such as saying that we should divorce ourselves from foreign oil in ten years) and support them when they do it. It's all so unlikely and that's the part of the book that isn't funny. We are, as Maher puts it, sheep. But the book is funny. It's very funny and it kept me going for the couple hours it took to finish it. Get it and read it, then write a letter to the White House, the House, the Senate, the Mayor, or whoever you need to direct. If this book gets three people involved in politics other than tacking a damn flag to their Hummer, then it will be worth the paper it was printed on.
Rating:
Summary: I expected this book to be funny
Review: Seeing that Maher thinks he's hilarious, I thought he would at least write a book that was mildly humorous. Not so. His attempt at humor is lacking in originality and does not spring from a very deep well. This book does not grab you, compel you, make you look at issues differently, or use humor as a tool to change your perspective on current events. He fails at his primary mission to be funny, and his secondary mission to provide insightful commentary in today's most important issues. Clearly he thought he was being cute and witty in writing this book - too bad it's as flat as yesterday's diet coke. True, the points he is trying to make are good ones, and kudos for the attempt, but as far as political humorists go, this guy is at the bottom of the list.
Rating:
Summary: Far below standards for Bill Maher
Review: This is an over-priced, over-sized edition of some of Bill's philosophy. I love his philosophy, but with the "poster pages," it comes across like an over-priced comic book. His comments are "right on," ... Thus the 2 stars. There's no bang for the buck.
Rating:
Summary: Thank God He's Back
Review: It's good to see Bill Maher back in action after his excellent show was unjustly cancelled by ... ABC. It's a sad commentary on our society when a unique and intelligent show like Politically Incorrect is pushed aside while the airwaves are saturated with cheesy reality shows, [bad] sit-coms, Jerry Springer-like talk shows, and dumbed down newscasts. If you never watched Politically Incorrect you should definitely get this book, because Bill Maher knows his stuff and he says things you won't hear in the mainstream media. And his opinions aren't tainted by a strict liberal or conservative viewpoint. He looks at each issue individually and takes a stand. One of the important points he makes is that the terrorists are funded primarily through the sale of oil, and the more oil we use the stronger they become. It's obvious that SUVs aren't helping anyone, but listen to this: It takes eleven gallons of oil to burn one 75-watt light bulb for a year. In how many American homes, and especially businesses, are the lights left on when nobody's in the room? My only criticism of this book is that it's too short, and the chapters don't go into enough detail about the particular issues they discuss. You can tell by the way the book is laid out that they really tried to stretch it.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, provocative, and opinionated
Review: Bill Maher has an incredible and valid view on what's wrong in the U.S today, he has a very interesting outlook and in my opinion a very truthful view on topics ranging from oil, cars, patriotism, world issues, the drug war, and much more. I am a fan of his, and I think he could open many peoples eyes to changes that need to be made to stop all the negativity that is present in the U.S, and towards the U.S from other countries.
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