# Al Franken's new book "Giant of the Senate" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804 "2017-05-31T23:12:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/21 "2017-06-01T16:17:22Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Is it entirely text or are there illustrations & charts and such? If it’s all text I might download it to my Kindle Paperwhite, but it does not do well with illustrations. I just finished it, and the only non-text I recall were several family/friends/coworkers photos at the end of the book. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/22 "2017-06-01T16:42:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I would not have guessed that Lindsey Graham had a sense of humor. That’s surprising. **JKellyMap** is absolutely correct. I remember watching the early Republican debates and thinking, “well, at least if Graham were president, we’d have somebody who is good with a quick quip in the White House.” ETA: I lurves me my Al Franken. I heard the Fresh Air interview too, and was thrilled that he has written another book. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/23 "2017-06-01T16:54:34Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I just finished it, and the only non-text I recall were several family/friends/coworkers photos at the end of the book. Great, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/24 "2017-06-01T17:08:32Z")
OK, then, I guess I just missed hearing about those Graham quips. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/25 "2017-06-01T18:39:17Z")
I may have to get this book. I just read a WaPo article about how Franken devotes an entire chapter to chronicling how awful Ted Cruz is. Might be worth it just for that. > **[Inside Al Franken’s blood feud with Ted Cruz, ‘the guy who microwaves fish’...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/01/the-guy-who-microwaves-fish-in-the-office-inside-al-frankens-blood-feud-with-ted-cruz/?utm_term=.49b0a89d1267)** > > Perhaps Franken is just saying aloud what his colleagues have thought all along. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/26 "2017-06-01T21:27:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I would not have guessed that Lindsey Graham had a sense of humor. I should have thought that if one knows anything about Lindsey Graham it’s his sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/27 "2017-06-01T21:36:20Z")
Lindsey Graham’s 10 best lines from his presidential campaign > **[Lindsey Graham’s 10 best lines from his presidential campaign | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/politics/lindsey-graham-best-lines-2016-campaign/)** > > What Lindsey Graham lacked in poll numbers, he made up for with jokes, wisecracks and occasionally saucy one-liners. > [@Lindsey Graham](#): > > “ISIL would be dancing in the streets, they just don’t believe in dancing.” > > “Strom Thurmond had four kids after he was 67, if you’re not willing to do that, we’ve got to come up with a new legal immigration system.” > > “On our side, you’ve got the No. 2 guy tried to kill someone at 14, and the No. 1 guy is high energy and crazy as hell … How am I losing to these people?” > > “The greatest character in Bond history was Pussy Galore, she was like, incredibly talented … Just her attitude toward life.” > “I’ve got a lot of friends. We’ll have a rotating first lady.” > “I wasn’t the best law student. By the end of this debate, it would be the most time I’ve ever spent in any library.” > “Ted, getting in bed with Iran and Russia to save Assad is inconceivable. Princess Buttercup would not like this.” (“The Princess Bride” is supposedly Ted Cruz’s favorite movie.) > “If I’m President, we’re going to drink more.” > “I can remember Fred. His wife called one night [to the bar] when I was about eight years old, and I answered the phone and his wife asked, ‘Is Fred there?’ So I ran up and said, ‘Fred, your wife wants to know if you are here.’ He said, ‘Tell her I am not here.’ So I went back and said, ‘He said he was not here.’ So I learned diplomacy at an early age.” > “You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.” In that Pussy Galore interview he also said that “The only unrealistic thing about ‘House if Cards’ is that a Democrat could represent Gaffney, South Carolina. I’m down with killin’ people … all you gotta do is push one [young reporter in front of a train] and the rest fall in line.” ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/28 "2017-06-01T21:36:42Z")
I think I’ll pick this up… I saw him interviewed in the new Grateful Dead documentary, _Long Strange Trip_… didn’t know till then that he was a huge Deadhead. He was very funny (in his usual dry way) in that. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/29 "2017-06-01T21:44:13Z")
“If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.” - Lindsey Graham ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/30 "2017-06-01T22:13:53Z")
And ordered. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/31 "2017-06-02T03:14:59Z")
He’s doing a book signing at a local bookstore this weekend (I’m in Minnesota). I’m planning on going - any suggestion on how early I should get in line? What should I ask him to write? ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/32 "2017-06-02T03:30:02Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > He’s doing a book signing at a local bookstore this weekend (I’m in Minnesota). I’m planning on going - any suggestion on how early I should get in line? What should I ask him to write? More books. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/33 "2017-06-02T12:25:09Z")
I think his “Oh, the things I know!” book is one of the better advice books out there. If I were to give any advice book to a graduate, it’d be that one. Funny and spot-on. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/34 "2017-06-02T12:30:40Z")
I’m reading it now, and while it’s raised the odd chuckle, I’m not finding it that funny. I’m currently reading about his campaign for election. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/35 "2017-06-02T13:05:31Z")
Re: Franken for president: on Marc Maron’s WTF pocast yesterday, Maron asked him directly if he was interested in running for the office. The answer, after a hearty belly laugh, was an emphatic “no.” He said something about not wanting to Peter Principle himself as Trump has done, completely ripping off a tweet of mine from last November where I declared Trump the Peter Principle President. I may have even posted something similar here. I will, of course, be suing for copyright infringement. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/36 "2017-06-02T13:14:57Z")
He’s so smart, he’d really make a great Secretary of State if he has no interest in the top job. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/37 "2017-06-02T13:28:23Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I’m reading it now, and while it’s raised the odd chuckle, I’m not finding it that funny. I’m currently reading about his campaign for election. I’m on Chapter 4 and it’s made me laugh a few times. More importantly, I find it interesting and the humor amusing if not laugh-out-loud material. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/38 "2017-06-02T13:32:16Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Re: Franken for president: on Marc Maron’s WTF pocast yesterday, Maron asked him directly if he was interested in running for the office. The answer, after a hearty belly laugh, was an emphatic “no.” Then he’s definitely running. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/39 "2017-06-02T14:08:29Z")
I have a question. Is the book primarily about his experiences in politics? Are there chapters that he uses as a soapbox for his political views? I’d enjoy a behind the scenes book on politics. But, not endless exhortations to support a particular issue. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/40 "2017-06-02T14:37:28Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I have a question. > > Is the book primarily about his experiences in politics? > > Are there chapters that he uses as a soapbox for his political views? > > I’d enjoy a behind the scenes book on politics. But, not endless exhortations to support a particular issue. So far I’ve read about what lying scumbags the Republicans are and how they tried to turn his satire against him by taking it completely out of context. And, on reflection, there are quite a few policies there, but I think I mostly missed them because they align with my own. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804.md?page=3)