FRESH LIES

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Lileks is among the very best
Review: A few deserving authors on the Right have really made their bones in the wake of 9-11.Ê Bernard Lewis went from being well-regarded in the ivory towers to a prominent place on magazine covers as the leading public voice in the West on Islam.Ê Victor Davis Hanson went from being a distinctive but little known military writer to one of the most popular geopolitical columnists in America.Ê Christopher Hitchens was saved from a life of thralldom to the tenets of Marxism as he became a leading, if improbable, defender of Western values.Ê Daniel Pipes became just as much the celebrated scourge of Islam as his dad had been the scourge of the Soviet Union.Ê And, on the comedic front, we all "discovered" James Lileks.

If you've ever looked at a blog, particularly a war blog, you'll have seen--and hopefully followed-- innumerable links to Mr. Lileks's Daily Bleat.Ê But he's no recent phenomenon, as this collection of columns from 1994 shows.Ê Mr. Lileks has been toiling away in the vineyards for many years now, or in his case the pages of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.Ê The older satire here is just as funny and just as politically incorrect as his writing over the past few months has been, including rants about NPR, women's hair dye, the metric system, and the Taster's Choice couple.

Columnists, especially those who write humor columns, have a tough task, called on not only to be consistent but consistently funny.Ê Mr. Lileks is among the very best.

GRADE : A

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Lileks is among the very best
Review: A few deserving authors on the Right have really made their bones in the wake of 9-11.Ê Bernard Lewis went from being well-regarded in the ivory towers to a prominent place on magazine covers as the leading public voice in the West on Islam.Ê Victor Davis Hanson went from being a distinctive but little known military writer to one of the most popular geopolitical columnists in America.Ê Christopher Hitchens was saved from a life of thralldom to the tenets of Marxism as he became a leading, if improbable, defender of Western values.Ê Daniel Pipes became just as much the celebrated scourge of Islam as his dad had been the scourge of the Soviet Union.Ê And, on the comedic front, we all "discovered" James Lileks.

If you've ever looked at a blog, particularly a war blog, you'll have seen--and hopefully followed-- innumerable links to Mr. Lileks's Daily Bleat.Ê But he's no recent phenomenon, as this collection of columns from 1994 shows.Ê Mr. Lileks has been toiling away in the vineyards for many years now, or in his case the pages of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.Ê The older satire here is just as funny and just as politically incorrect as his writing over the past few months has been, including rants about NPR, women's hair dye, the metric system, and the Taster's Choice couple.

Columnists, especially those who write humor columns, have a tough task, called on not only to be consistent but consistently funny.Ê Mr. Lileks is among the very best.

GRADE : A

Rating:
Summary: The biggest triple-threat since Bobby Darin
Review: He can write. He can dance. And after 2 cans of beers, he can eructate a heart-rending belchadelic rendition of THE WAY WE WERE. I can't believe I'm living in a world where every goddam Salvation Army store contains 937 copies of VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and not one copy of FRESH LIES. As Kenneth Tynan said, it's enough to make a Manichean of me.

You have a decision to make, Smedley. You can either buy FRESH LIES---or I can program my Orson Welles android to sit on your face. The choice is yours.

Rating:
Summary: Hip, yet midwestern
Review: James Lileks is like a younger Garrison Keeler--and I mean that in a good way. He has the same smart sense of humor and the same midwestern sensibility. Lileks takes on everyday life writing about his fear of his espresso maker, shampoo, rock music, and all sorts of other things in the world around him in a way that is fresh and frequently hilarious. I read this book on the train and people kept staring at me because I was laughing so hard. The chapter entitled "Turn That Racket Down" (about pop music) in particular brought tears to my eyes. Lilieks writes from the point of view of those of us who missed out on being boomers (thank god), but who are to old to be part of Gen X. If it amuses you that the song "Instant Karma" ws used to sell shoes, but you don't understand rap music, you are the right age to enjoy this book

Rating:
Summary: So smart
Review: Lileks is one of those guys who can put such a unique top-spin on mundane matters that it's transformed into the most clever, hilarious topic imaginable.

Short and snappy, Fresh Lies' essays and stories embody a respectable variety, from the silly to the artfully sincere. Keep it in your bag, for waiting in line or riding the bus, or the patio. Hell, keep it wherever you want- just keep it!