Rating: 
Summary: Molly underestimates we Texans again
Review: Having endured Molly's columns for a number of years, I cannot
decide if she is serious or just takes her positions to make money. She is amusing. Those of us in Texas who voted 65% for him for Governor and those 85+ who approve of his presidency obviously have better vision of the man than she. Imagine if
Gore was now president !!!!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: I have not actually read this book below, but I will tell you why I will not do so. When I lived in Texas I read Molly Ivins's political columns frequently. The prospective buyer needs to know that Molly Ivins always gave the far-left view on issues of the day, but her columns were especially bothersome because her columns were always a pack of lies, and even worse, you could tell she thought she was being funny (she always bombed at trying to be funny- she never was funny!).
Therefore, since she cannot be trusted to be honest, there is no need to bother with her book (unless you enjoy being deceived).
Added On: January 25, 2002: It is apparant that my review struck a nerve out there. I'm sorry if you are offended about my review of the quality of work of Molly Ivins but truth hurts. I should also add that Miss Ivins is very hateful to people who disagree with her views (just witness the insulting language she uses to describe people in her columns).
Rating: 
Summary: The truth hurts, eh Republicans?
Review: It seems crazy, in a way, to add my 2 cents here. Reading the reviews of this book - and others like it - it's easy to discern that Democrats liked it, and Republicans did not. Not surprising. It should also come as no surprise that nobody's views will change after reading the book.But I have something to say to this book's (Republican) detractors... did it ever occur to you that the book is FACTUAL? Debate Ivins' facts, if you can. I don't see - in any of the negative reviews for "Shrub" - ONE instance where Ivins' facts are proven false by the reviewer. Did it occur to any of the book's detractors that Ivins - who has covered Texan politics for years - might know MORE about Texan politics (and Dubya) than somebody that lives and works in, say, Wisconsin?? Prove to me, detractors, that Molly Ivins has printed lies, and that you know more about Texas politics than she. It should be quite telling that the lone review from Texas I've seen posted says that there are "no rumours or false charges here." I don't know much about Texan politics, but I assume that Ivins (and this Texan book reviewer) does, and both state that the facts found in this book are just that - FACTS. The truth hurts, eh Republicans? George W. Bush is probably the most UNQUALIFIED person to ever become President. I say this not as a Liberal (which I am), but as an astute observer of American politics. Ironically, the Republicans had an outstanding (and qualified) candidate in John McCain but elected to nominate Dubya instead. It's ironic, too, that George Bush, Sr. was VERY qualified to become President... a war hero, Ambassador to China, Director of the CIA, Vice President for eight years, etc. His son, Dubya, drastically lacks any similar qualifications for the job. He just has the proper last name.
Rating:
Summary: Molly Ivins, Plaigiarist
Review: It's unbelievable that a reputable publisher would give this documented plaigiarist (from Florence King and Tom Brokaw) a forum to vent her hackneyed, Bush-hating spleen. Ms. Ivins has proven herself incapable of original thought, and this book is actually the recycled campaign material of Bush opponent Ann Richards.
Rating: 
Summary: For the Love of Democracy¿Read this Book!
Review: I wanted to cry at the end of this book. Molly Ivins saved the most poignant case of parents along the Mexican boarder struggling with children stricken with neural tube defects. I did get a bit of a laugh when she lamented that big political contributions had killed off the old Texas tradition of stealing elections. In fairness, she did write the book well before the Florida drama unfolded. Molly, you needn't have worried. The Bush brothers just brought the old Texas tradition to a national audience. Everyone interested in the fate of this country should read this book! You cannot understand the Bush Presidency without understanding Texas politics.
Rating:
Summary: Shrub: Yada Yada Yada
Review: Molly Ivins is the most predictably biased journalist in the business today. She practically foams at the mouth with hatred of any politician who doesn't have a 'D' after his name. This is just one more predictable hatchet job of liberal hate-speech. Molly couldn't find any fault with the... Clinton years, but practically invents and over-blows the slightest Bush 'fault'. Because of her close-minded, lock-step liberal bent, Molly's opinions must be taken with a grain of salt by any open-minded reader. Don't waste your money on this latest example of liberal hate speech.
Rating:
Summary: A Down Home Analysis of Bush
Review: I have always enjoyed Molly Ivins' lively style, which makes her a pleasure to read. I enjoyed "Shrub" and found it highly informing as well. The book details fascinating incidents from the career of George Bush as Governor of Texas, along with highlighting key events from his life growing up in a famous American family, being the son of a U.S. president, as well as his business career. In order to understand public figures it is important to know about their past lives, which serve as an excellent predictor of present and future conduct. "Shrub" provides a detailed look at Bush's past, making him far more readily understandable as President of the United States. William Hare
Rating:
Summary: Smart, funny and full of insight
Review: Any reviewer who says Molly Ivins has an ax to grind against George Bush either hasn't read this book, or doesn't know how to read very well. During the election fiasco, I heard a reporter ask her what mistakes people make most often in evaluating Bush and she said, "He's not stupid and he's not mean," and she admitted that although she disagreed with his politics, she found him, personally, a pretty nice guy. She's about as far from a political hatchet wielder as a writer can get. The truth is, Molly Ivins has been covering Texas politics all her professional life and probably understands it better than any human being. She approaches the topic with a little bit of pride in the state's quirky individuality, a little embarassment at its occasional insanity and meanness, and with her low-key, off the wall sense of humor always in tact. She knows the world that made George Bush better than anyone around, and her insights into his character and philosophy are always interesting. And how can you not love a political writer who makes you laugh? This book was written during the election, and so there's nothing in it about either the election itself, or Bush's tenure so far as president. I hope Ivins will be covering those topics in a future book, and will bring as much humor and insight there as she does here
Rating:
Summary: Failure to accept the truth.
Review: This book fails like many others to accept the truth about George W. Bush. I will never say Bush is the most qualified man for the job, nor will I say that he is going to make a positive impression on this nation during his term in office. What I will say is that noone is giving him a lick of a chance. Bush was judged before he stepped into office. This book does two things. The first is put another layer of "tint" over the eyes of the American public, making it even harder for them to see the quality job Bush has done in office so far. The other is destroy the morale of America, by depicting our leader as incapable to our own public, and to the rest of the free world. The American people are gullible, and follow the pointing stick of the media wherever it goes. Please open your minds, and think for yourselves, give him a fair shot at his term. Bush has proven the media wrong with his diplomatic measures in Europe (also proving the Europeans wrong, who were quite impressed with him), and his general approach to office his first six months. If Bush fails us at the end of the four years, then open fire on him. But give him a chance for those four years.
Rating:
Summary: Is it still relevant? Yes, without a doubt
Review: Molly Ivins (and Lou Dubose) wrote the bulk of this book after George W. Bush had won the GOP nomination but before the final outcome of the election (there is a Post Election Afterward). Essentially, the book is an examination of Bush's career both as a businessman and governor of Texas. Is the book, therefore, still relevant? Yes. Why? Because as Ivins demonstrates, from the very beginning of his political career, Bush has changed very, very little in his ideas and way of thinking. In fact, after reading this book, I feel I understand our current president with far greater insight than I did before. Ivins identifies a few key issues--and, really, only a few issues--as being of paramount concern to Bush. First and foremost, George W. Bush is concerned with a healthy climate for big business. This comes out over and over and over in his career both as governor and as president. He is a passionate advocate of major Tort Reform. Basically, this means he would like to change our legal system so that it is close to impossible for individuals or groups of individuals to sue large corporations. Ivins points out repeated instances of this in his terms as governor. We can see it today in both his announced desire to initiate Tort Reform as president, and in his opposition to the Patients' Bill of Rights, which he opposes because it makes provisions for patients to sue HMOs. Despite his claims of being concerned about the environment, both in Texas and in his current energy plan, Bush is concerned with easing environmental restrictions to give a boost to business. This comes out in a number of ways. In his recent energy plan (the public reaction to which has caused much of his recent downward spiral in opinion polls), he was clearly concerned with giving energy companies as many places to search for oil and minerals as possible, even if it was protected land. Less publicized, but even closer to his heart, is his desire to move from governmental regulation of energy violations to "self-monitoring." In other words, the companies themselves ought, in Bush's view, to watchdog themselves. This happened in Texas, and as Ivins shows, during his terms there, the levels of pollution in Texas rose dramatically. She also reveals that during his terms as governor, federally mandated "surprise" environmental inspections of factories and corporations were announced ahead of time. Second, Ivins shows Bush to be an avid opponent of finance reform. Well, some qualification. Bush is an advocate of changing the system of contributions, but he wants to see all limits to what individuals can give to candidates removed. This is, of course, completely contrary to the point of what we mean when we talk about campaign finance reform. It is the opposite of what people like John McCain is talking about. Third, Ivins shows that Bush is a strong supporter of school vouchers (along with the teaching of phonics--a good system, but one which he would push to the exclusion of all others) and testing (though in Texas he pushed through a single test as the ONLY means of graduating from one school grade to another, so that even if you made straight A's, if you failed the test, you would not graduate). Fourth, Ivins shows Bush to be profoundly involved with the religious Right. Unlike some former presidents like Reagan, who was completely unreligious himself and had absolutely no record of being personally religious but who pretended to be in order to court the religious conservatives (I vividly remember a tape of Reagan at a fundamentalist conference while he was president, in which he led a group prayer in which he prayed like a Holy Roller preacher--scenes like this were carefully orchestrated by his press corps so that they never turned up on Dan Rather), Bush is genuinely committed to the values of the religious right. Most disturbingly, Ivins shows Bush to be the master of doublespeak. He talks of being concerned with the environment when nothing in his record supports this, when everything in his record shows him to be utterly opposed to all environmentalism. He talks of compassionate conservatism, when utterly nothing in his record points to any concrete concern about the plight of people anywhere. In fact, he only concerns seem to be the concerns of business. But over and over, the gap between what he says he believes and what he record shows, is enormous. As I write this, both a majority of Americans and many within his own party are coming to realize that George Bush is not a moderate Republican and are starting to distance themselves from him. I would heartily urge anyone who wants to understand our president and his agenda more fully, to read this book. Oh yeah, Molly Ivins is frequently as funny a political writer as one will find these days. Not just informative; it is fun.
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