I just finished The Truth (with jokes) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525949062/102-7927110-2096901?v=glance&n=283155; see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_(with_jokes)), by Al Franken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken), and I liked it and thought I’d open an appreciation/discussion thread. Perhaps this should go in GD as it’s a political book, but I’m not proposing any particular issue for debate.
Who else has read it? What did you think?
I read it and loved it. I especially like how he totally called old what’s his face on defrauding the Indian Tribes.
I enjoyed it, though I thought Lies and the Lying Liars was more laugh-out-loud funny.
I like most of his books, but I am always surprised by how naive he is.
E.g., in “Lies …” he was unaware of what a “rhymes with rich” Barbara Bush is. No one that follows politics can be that uninformed.
In “The Truth…”, he falls for the “an IOU written to yourself is an asset” bull. Doesn’t he talk to anyone who knows a smidgen of accounting???
And in each book there’s a chapter or two that is just a dud. And each time it’s one of those dream/fantasy/cartoon things. Stick to reality Al.
To be fair, what he wrote about in the book is how he found out. Everybody who knows has to have found out sometime. In his case, it was after actually meeting her.
Supply Side Jesus was funny, but he and Michael Moore (and probably others) both did this thing I find annoying where they wrote imaginary conversations with God. I especially hated Moore’s, in which god says something to the effect of, “Of course I meant Gore to win. I gave him the majority of the votes.” Ha ha, very funny. Like God doesn’t understand the electoral system.
Moderator coughs gently: As with other political satire/humor, the discussion here is fine as long as we’re dealing with the work itself. That is, you may talk about the Franken book and what it has to say, whether it’s funny, whether it’s tragic, whatever. Do NOT (repeat, do NOT) discuss the politics per se.
Yeah, it’s a fine line, but it’s there. Political discussions go in Great Debates forum; discussions about entertainment go here.
Has anybody read it who had no idea who Franken is or what direction the book was going to go?
What did you think of it?
I think that’s more like John Stewart playing the straight man.
I bought this before Christmas to read over Christmas, but my Dad gave me Jimmy Carter’s book, and I got about 10 others…it’s next in line, if y’all want to wait about 4 days.
My current favorite anti-Bush book is Bush on the Couch, followed by Kitty Kelley’s book The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty.
If you just want something fun, in addition to Al Franken and Michael Moore there’s Paul Slansky’s George Bush Quiz Book.