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Rating: 
Summary: This isn't just about BUSH!
Review: "Truth" misses the point, complaining about Clinton's lies. It is no surprise that politicians try to spin the truth. Of course Bush tries to spin things his way. The point is that no one (except spinsanity.com) is calling the president on it! Of course there is usually a grain of truth behind the spin, but we are nevertheless misled! He says the are WMD's. The media reported it unquestioningly. He says there are links between Saddam and 9/11. The press isn't saying Show us the proof. Don't people want to know the truth? When I heard that moveon.org tested an ad comparing Bush to Hitler, I wanted to know whether it was true. (It wasn't -- an individual posted the ad in a contest.) When I heard the VP Cheney said that a vote for Kerry would make a terrorist attack more likely, I wondered if it could be true. (Not exactly -- what he said sounded that way, but arguably could have meant something else.) When I heard that Zell Miller said that liberals in America were dangerous and unpatriotic for criticizing the "Commander-in-Chief", I wanted to know the truth. (Yes, he did say this and worse!) Spinsanity is where I found the answers to my questions and this book puts it all together.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't listen to the partisan jibber
Review: First off I must address the couple of nay sayers who have droped the score of this book. Quite frankly this another example of the polemic nature in America that has sickend me greatly. Both sides of the political sprectrum are now simply scoring books poorly just because it potentially bashes their politcal alignment; this stuff makes me continually fear todays America. I can't beleive we have become so polemic that we are going to a book stores to just lower a books rating just for the sake of politcs, comeon people this is just sad. The two people, Maenad and P. Noack, who claim this book is partisian quite frankly give a bad name to my party. As a registered Republican I can certainly say the guys who wrote this certianly don't have a politcal axe to grind. I have been a fan of spinsanity for awhile and I have to say if some of the nay-sayers actually went to the site and actually read what these people write they would realize this guys spend equal time criticizing both sides of the politcal spectrum because I genuinly blieve they have a porblem with American politics all together as do I. What should give most people the clue that the two nay-sayers haven't read this book is the fact that they compared this book to farenheit 9-11 and I as a Repulican say that is abosultely insane. The book is a valuable resource not just to look at todays presidency but also to show how to in future look for the spin that is surely to come. Another area of the book I absolutely loved was the critique of todays media, which I believe was absolutely head on. Quite frankly the whole argument of the medias alignment is completely beside the point. Rather the whole nature of media today in general is the problem; which this book so effectivly points out. My only grip with this book is that it seemed a little bit dispassionate, but in some cases a objective look needs to be like that.
Good book that deserves a read but it certainly isn't the greatest book ever.
Rating:
Summary: Learn a Few Secrets of Spin
Review: I liked this book but not as much as I wanted to like it. Another reviewer commented on the relative lack of analysis in this book. This is true to a degree but that's because analysis is not the strong point of the book. The strength of the book, to me, is the creation of a heightened sensitivity to the "spin" on *all* political stories, left and right. Very little in here was entirely new to me, but the actual details of the various spin campaigns was fascinating to me. Bush partisians might take issue with the focus on Bush but I feel it's because this administration has elevated spin into a kind of public relations steamroller. The authors even seem to have a muted admiration for the skill and organizational detail involved in maintaining this level of persistant media spin. Well, maybe only a little bit. Through the specifics and examples are excellent, I found myself drifting a bit during the last third of the book. It seemed weaker at the finish. I would still recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: An important look at the state of politics
Review: I picked this up on Saturday and haven't been able to put it down. It's well-researched, compelling, and a little frightening, really. To put it pretty simply, the more people who read this the better it will be for our democratic institutions -- and there's no reason that both left and right-leaning people can't get a lot out of this, as it criticizes deceptive and dishonest tactics, not ideological questions.
Rating:
Summary: Finally--Fair Media Criticism
Review: In a time when 99.9% of media criticism consists of people saying "I don't like what you are saying therefore you are wrong," Fritz and Co. actually use facts and reason when critiquing the media. Shocking, but effective.
Rating:
Summary: Golly gee whiz!
Review: Not very surprising stuff for those who no longer believe that politicians tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The deceptions outlined within seemed unexpectedly tame and run-of-the-mill to me, but maybe that's just because the Spinsanity guys do an exceptional job of sticking to the cold facts in a world rife with hyperbole and sensationalism -- though it sometimes leaves them sounding a little like charmingly disillusioned boy scouts. Sorry guys, but as long as the overwhelming majority of the electorate is too busy (or too lazy) to keep on top of the issues of the day, spinners will always be winners. Welcome to reality. Nevertheless, it's an interesting read. And kudos to spinsanity.com for trying to turn the tide. I have a thing for beautifully hopeless romantics.
Rating: 
Summary: Spinning out of Control
Review: President George W. Bush employs large numbers of people to manage his public relations. Like other U.S. presidents, he is prone to twisting the truth every now and then to sell his ideas to the people. In this book, the founders of the web site spinsanity.com talk about the president's use of political spin, why they feel his particular style of spin is particularly toxic, and why we need to demand change.
Every president, and most people in politics, are natural born liars. But as this book explains, Bush is a new breed of liar and his style of lying is more dangerous. Most people already know about the more common Bush fibs, like the ones about the weapons of mass destruction charge and the ones about his tax cuts and how they would help the middle and lower classes. Lying is nothing new in politics, but Bush is unique, in the minds of these authors, because 1. He never admits lying, even when the truth is uncovered. He will even change his initial story to cover up his lie and 2. He continues to go around preaching to the people about his supposed honesty. All of this is done to cover his tracks and make the people think he's telling the truth.
How does Bush get away with this? Well, according to this book, he gets away with it primarily because the media is too soft on him. Reporters are worried about taking a stand against the president and calling him on his frequent lies for several reasons. First of all, because they don't want to be labeled as biased. Second, because they are worried that, if they go against certain programs and actions, like the war against Iraq, they will be labeled as unpatriotic and un- American. Their desire to remain objective prevents them from criticizing what Bush tells them. And this lack of criticism, indirectly, makes the public think that the falsehoods are actually true.
This book covers Bush's lies from his days when he first ran for president all the way to the election of 2004. The authors make brief mention of other politicians and their lies, like John Kerry and a few others. But they don't say very much about these people. They stick to the main subject of the book, George W. Bush, from beginning to end.
I found this book to be fairly good overall, but it's not quite the inspirational piece of literature I had hoped it would be. I already knew it was going to be biased, based on its title alone. But I was hoping to discover some new facts about president Bush and his penchant for not telling the truth. Unfortunately for me, I didn't gain any new insight. Most of the material presented here has already been published many times before. So, unless you're brand- new to the topic of Bush and his spin team, you will likely not find much in a book like this one. However, for newcomers to the world of political lying, this book is a good place to start. It breaks down some of the more common Bush lies, with quotations and sources to back up its claims, showing how Bush and his administration shamelessly spout off one lie after under while continuing to hide under the banner of morality.
Rating: 
Summary: How this book could have been much more fair & balanced
Review: The authors make a decent case that Pres. Bush sometimes stretches the truth a bit. Though when push comes to shove, what he says, they admit, is generally correct. That the media doesn't do its job very well is hardly new or unique to the Bush Admin. It is somewhat laughable that the authors choose to focus on Bush's sometimes picayune distortions (e.g., when the basic point he is getting across is correct, and what he is saying is also factually correct -- on taxes for example -- yes, those he picked to highlight his tax plan make the plan look good, but it did cut taxes for all taxpayers, which was his point: 'This cuts taxes, it is a tax cut.'), and choose not to cover Clinton's far greater mendacity. Only one of these presidents was found to have lied under oath and sanctioned by a federal judge amd then later disbarred for doing so (Not to mention lying to the entire country numerous times by his own admissions.). To preserve their alleged neutrality, and to make this book a more fair look at spin that would have supported the purpose of their website and made this a truly nonpartisan book, that would have been read by a broader cross-section of the electorate, the book should have focused on Clinton AND Bush. Since this largely focuses on a President in office, the Kerry portions would have been better replaced with an expand Clinton sections. Especially in light of the fact that the whole phenomenon of spin came into the public eye during the '92 Clinton campaign, with J. Carville and G. Stephanoupolous spinning (and being spun by Clinton & Clinton - see GS' ALL TOO HUMAN) madly to deflect bimbo erruptions they swore up and down had no factual basis. As later events and Michael Isikoff's excellent and fair book, UNCOVERING CLINTON, make clear, this was all spin, and the dawning of a new age of degraded political discourse. Also, if I'm not mistaken on this point, I must point out the irony of the authors' attempts at "spinsanity", unbiased analysis, here and at their website - 2 Democrats, no Republicans - what could be more fair!?
Rating:
Summary: Good record, boring read
Review: The first thing that should be said about this book is that it's really thin on spin. What it accomplishes is outing many out and out Bush administration lies. Spin is when you're selling an old couch that your dog used to lie on and call it "shabby chic". Most of what's here are lies. The tax relief plan paid for itself? That's not spin, that's taking something that's not at all true and saying it's fact. Saddam and Osama? No evidence, but for months it was the administration's war gospel. There's no spin where no shred of truth ever stood.
So, about the book. I'll tell you straight up: It's boring. Without much insight, the book walks through the different scandals of the presidency and describes how facts are altered as a means for saving face and never admitting fault or defeat. Starting with the tainted election and working to a point I can't stay awake to read about, they're all there.
What's missing? Analysis and insight. This book is a fact checker's delight. The sources are verified and the twists on said sources are identified. I expected that in this book, but I also craved commentary and insight that was just absent. I'll give the authors their due respect for uncovering subject matter that was intentionally shrouded, but their impartial nature turns eloquence to evidence, and really detracts from what could have been a vindictive, poignant read for an election year.
One part that earned these authors my stingy stars was their steadily pointed finger at a lazy lazy press corps. It's clearly an issue with dedication of resources, but the press really doesn't do anything to dig into the statements that politicians make unless someone outside of the press goes to them with proof of intentional deceit. In the book, this is noted everywhere it's appropriate, and I'm scared to say that the problem is likely far worse than the book could express.
Regardless, this book is not the flashy scandalous read I hoped it would be. It's an awesome reference, however, and will likely be used to source data for volumes upon volumes of (hopefully) more compelling future efforts.
Rating:
Summary: a balanced look at politics and the media
Review: What an important book for people to consider in an election year.
Someone could easily assume from the cover that this is a partisan attack on George W. Bush, but you know what assuming does right? Contrary to appearance, this book is a wonderful critique of both the media and how the political system has evolved since Bush took office.
A variety of topics are discussed, such as the tax cuts, deficits, the war on terror, and the war against iraq. The book not only looks at Bush's dishonesty, but how the media does not hold him accountable.
The authors of this book also hold John Kerry accountable for his methods during the 2004 campaign, asserting that Kerry is guilty of using the same tactics that Bush has pioneered and perfected.
Even though the election is coming up very soon, as many people as possible should find time for this book.
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