Treason : Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism

Rating:
Summary: Good research, bad presentation
Review: I give Ann Coulter 3 stars on this book for her basic research into how liberals have routinely sold out the United States for the last 60 years or more. But what I find unpleasant about "Treason" is that it's little more than a 300-page rant, so chock full of over-the-top anti-left insults that it actually loses its impact as it goes along.

Because of the book's viciousness toward liberals, no liberal will ever read this book -- and they need to, because of the research it contains (Coulter, for example, blows the lid off how the left has re-written history to make Joseph McCarthy a pariah). I wish Coulter had written a book that was more thoughtful and less scathing...a book liberals could read and say, "I never knew that." But they won't, because she takes an attack-dog approach from the very first sentence and doesn't let up for the next 300 pages.

As it is, "Treason" is a long, repetitive sermon to the choir that will achieve little or nothing to turn liberals from their traitorous ways.

Rating:
Summary: I'm a conservative, but...
Review: The book is so-so. My real problem with it is that Ann chops up far to many quotes, meaning you will see something like this "I think...Ann Coulter...is right" when the real quote could have been "I think conservatives have it wrong. Ann Coulter is never right" there are too many of those kind of quotes, but everything else is too soild to argue.

If you are thinking about getting the book, get just for the sections on McCarthy, all her facts regarding him are very cut and dry.

Overall liberals need to stop whinning about the title because that dosen't change the fact that they have been on the wrong side of histroy since WWII.

In short read the book, but don't take everything to heart, read it carefully and know when the spin starts and stops.

Rating:
Summary: I used to be a Republican ...
Review: But a funny thing happened. My entire field of work (computers) was shipped to India by my fellow Republicans. My fellow Republicans lied to inflate stock prices, sold at the top, and stole $30,000 from me when the market crashed.

If you think I'm in love with the Left, you are wrong. All extremists are destructive. Michael Moore is an even bigger liar than Ann Coulter, and that is saying a lot. At least Al Franken is funny.

This book is simply propaganda. I won't rehash all the other posts that directly point out the lies and distortions.

It won't work anymore. Republican theft has now reached the upper middle class. I suppose the lower classes were all picked clean, so they had to come after me. Big mistake.

Since I don't have a job, thanks to Big Business, which is the true TREASON that needs to be discussed, I'll just have to vote Democrat. If you want treason, look no farther than Kenneth Lay and all the huge companies now shipping even white collar jobs oversees to improve the "bottom line" ... this type of treason and greed is the death of capitalism.

You alleged conservatives have a big surprise coming in 2004.

Rating:
Summary: Ann Coulter is the Pit Barbie of the American Right
Review: This book is a fascinating read -- it smacks of self-parody on a David Sedaris level, except that she's completely real. It is definitely a page-turner, but in the same respect, I sometimes can't turn off medical shows -- it's so repulsive I can't help but revel in it.

Ann Coulter is a deeply sad person who will bark for attention from anyone who will give it to her. If liberals would only give her more love than her conservative cronies, then she'll be swinging left faster than you can say "feminazi."

Rating:
Summary: Overall good but one big problem
Review: The big problem is Coulter's belief that "America chose God and the Soviets chose Man" and it is this that makes America better and the USSR evil. This is the most asinine statement I've ever read. In fact, the opposite is true. America chose Man, i.e. reason, reality, the mind and it was the Soviets who chose god; god being Society (mystics of muscle as compared to mystic of spirit, see Ayn Rand). The Soviets worshipped Society (a collection of men) without worshipping the individual man. It was this that led to all the other problems.

Coulter's aforementioned statement implies that she believes Man is inherently depraved and to "choose" Him is evil. Ann, Man is reason, success, achievement, values, creativity, thinking, etc. Chosing Man is the greatest thing a person can do. In fact, all successful people realise this, whether implicitly or explicitly, for if they didn't they would find to reason to put in any effort for anything. (Why should they if they believe Man is a depraved, gross being and thus they believe that is what they are. This equals low self-esteem and depression. "You have to love life in order to live," someone once said.) To say that America abandoned this view and the Soviets embraced it is a grave misunderstanding and an "intellectual crime." It was America's dedication to reality and reason, i.e. to the supremacy of Man's mind, that led them to become the greatest country in the world, both philosophically and existentially, (although some of that is changing.) Afterall, faith did not build spaceships and automobiles; reason did. The Soviets, having abondoned reason and Man's mind, witnessed nothing but despair, much like the Europeans in the Dark and Middle Ages when they abondoned reason for "faith" i.e. mysticism. The greatest periods in Man history has been times of Reason, e.g.: Ancient Greece, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution. (If you believe the Industrial Revolution of harmful, reading some works by Ayn Rand, Ludwig von Mises, etc, because you have been deceived.)

That is the main problem with conservatives today. The belief the man is inherently depraved and that rights are given to Man by God, capitalism given to Man by God, etc. God did not give Man these things; Man's nature, i.e. reality, gave man rights and it is these rights that capitalism is derived from. To say otherwise is to say that socialism is the rational system, since if capitalism is based on God, you are saying it is based on faith. Faith is irrationality. It is the rejection of reason in favor of a man's feelings. So again, to argue for capitalism in this way is to say to the socialists that reality and reason is on their side and thus that they have the proper system. It's to say that rights are based on feelings when in actuality they are based on reality and Man's nature.

In the same area where Coulter makes those implications, she also seems to assert that morality can only be derived from religion. So atheist have no morality, Ann? I am an atheist; I have strong moral values, probably stronger than most religious people. What are my morals derived from? Reality, Man's nature in the capacity of Man, Man as the highest being (an end in himself). It is a great disservice to suggest that the Soviet Union was immoral, criminal, despotic because they lacked religion. (Religion didn't lead to the formulation of individual rights or to democracy in the Middle Ages or Dark Ages, did it? When was America born? In the Age of Enlightenment, which perdominately was an Age of secularism in the sense that Man put reason ahead of faith. They still believed in God but they put Him in his place and did not follow Him blindly like we are seeing in a certain part of the world now. It was the recognition of reality by using reason that led to individual rights, democracy, success, achievement, creativity, prosperity, America.) The USSR was evil because they had a false philosophy, a philosophy that was not based on the facts of reality and on the Man nature.

In summation, this book is pretty good. It sheds a lot of light on little known facts. However, after I read that statement by Coulter, I just couldn't enjoy the book as much as before. Maybe Coulter didn't look deeper into the philosophical meaning of her statement but I still can't over look it and I can't forgive it.

Rating:
Summary: History Teachers Take Note
Review: Another scholarly conservative work. For any teacher of history, this book is a must. While some may not agree with the political ideaology forwarded by Coulter her evidence, over sixty pages of it, is difficult to counter (though you are more than welcome to try). I strongly recommend this book on the basis of the presenatation of additional perspective and the scores of evidence it has amassed in order to answer some of our oldest Cold War questions.

Rating:
Summary: Treason: In Black and White
Review: Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism by Ann Coulter is an expose of an ever-growing threat to the American Way of Life. This is not, however, the threat posed by treasonous liberals who "hobnob" with our nations enemies. It is a threat from within, a growing plague of dogma that threatens to overwhelm and effectively cripple our nation's political process.

In order to be objective, I will address no specific references of the book. Coulter brings up many historical and present issues, and relates a digest of both sides of the argument. Then, as quickly as they were brought up, she denounces one and champions the other blindly, while insulting any reader who may have foolishly held differing opinions. Coulter's logic enforces an apparently growing American belief that politics is a game with two players, one good, one evil, one right, one wrong, depending on ones viewpoint. In this belief there is no room for compromise. There will be a winner and there will be a loser. It is this belief, not either of the viewpoints in contention, which presents the true threat to our freedoms.

Coulter's writing style, and her therein evidenced black and white ideology, is good for little more than landing television appearances and providing a pat-on-the-back to others who already share her sacrosanct view of the American Right. While the issues she discusses are viable, and both sides are with merit, her one-sided view sacrifices any hope of objectivity, and therefore, relevance. We can only hope that the practice of purveying dogma such as this will end up where it belongs; in the "unmarked grave of discarded lies."

Rating:
Summary: Those who are untalented tend to lean towards shock
Review: Its the truth, people who are untalented tend to lean towards shock. Howard Stern, Jerry Springer, Alice Cooper, not Ann Coulter. No right wing conservative in their right mind would listen to her tripe is she wasn't a blond bimbo.

Rating:
Summary: She's quite angry!
Review: I was disappointed. Ms. Coulter's style is so angry and self-righteous that after a few pages I needed to stop reading. I expected somthing more thoughtful, less emotional. Coulter seems to think saying something in strong language makes it so. And I've recently read the her point about McCarthy and his patriotism completely overlooks his support for the SS when they came to trial after World War II.

Rating:
Summary: This book is for you!
Review: This book is for you - that is if you are close-minded and enjoy making blind judgements with no factual basis.

I love the United States. I am fascinated with our social and political history. A friend of mine who knows of my interest gave me a copy of this book. After reading this well written, yet poorly researched tome, I felt alienated and frustrated. This book is not a conservative-leaning discussion of the true history of the Democratic party, but the rant of an angry child. Grow up Ms. Coulter! I may not agree with every candidate from the Republican party or every belief set forth by the Republican platform but I LOVE this country. One thing Ms. Coulter does brilliantly is make me want to give to every independent and moderate Democrat campaign I can!

So Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton committed treason because they were Democrats? I agree that Carter was not a very good President, but look at what he has done since leaving office. Habitat for Humanity is an organization that helps build low income housing in the neighborhoods where America needs it the most. Trying to make poor neighborhoods more family friendly - yeah, that sounds treasonous to me.
Clinton was VERY American business friendly. He was the best thing to happen to SUVs and the American car companies since the 50s. He made a lot of mistakes. He ignored Bin Laden, Saudi Arabia and Hussein in the interest of being everyone's buddy. Plus, I hated that someone so smug seemed to be able to get away with anything. However, I do not believe that his Presidency could be called treasonous. In some ways, his sucking up to every other nation made America that much more powerful in its ability to influence the world.
Joseph McCarthy? So by rooting out Hollywood writers and directors who time has shown had very little, if anything, to do with the Communist "plot," so to speak, he proved himself to love his country that much more?

Finally, if the Republicans are so much better at coordinating and executing military action than the Democrats, than why are so many American men and women continuing to die in Iraq? I was initially against the war but I accepted it as something that was going to happen. Rather than continue to protest, I joined my friends in supporting the troups. I was proud the day Hussein's statue came down. But now we are in a never- ending war. If Clinton were still President, I bet Coulter would be on every news channel blasting him and his fellow Democrats.

Rather than make intelligent arguments in order to open up a dialogue, Coulter prefers to copy Michael Moore and obnoxiously rant against any person who disagrees with her in order to sell more books. I, for one, will never purchase an Ann Coulter product, and I have warned my friends about this book.