Sunday, January 13, 2008

An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems (Kindle Edition) Review


I just finished reading this great book by Glenn Beck. I'll try to write a thorough review, so a few criticisms will be here, but I love Glenn (we go way back, though he doesn't even know me!), and the book was a delight to read. As I sat down and poured myself a Coke Zero (thanks Glenn, I'm hooked), I prepared to read. First, I was impressed just by picking it up. Glossy pages! Smells of new print (like a new textbook)! High production quality! This is a serious book for only $15! Glenn has said multiple times that he tempers his ADD by surrounding himself with good people, and this book is no exception. Kevin Balfe shines through (even gets 2nd billing as an author). Stu and Dan obviously helped, with a few new names (who I'm guessing must be the liberals he mentioned having to hire). The book covers just about everything, with 1 chapter covering the main bullet points on Global Warming. Anybody with a small amount of an investigative mind sees the agenda behind the current scare, and Glenn hits most points right on. There are better books if you want the science, free from Big Corn (agribusiness), tax raisers, and big/global government types--this is just an introduction. There's only 23 pages on that, because he quickly moves to Marriage and Porn. The next chapters cover Islam, Body Image, Blind Dating, Income Gap, Oil Dependence, Liberal Universities, Political Games, Movie Rentals, Media Bias, Political Correctness, Tipping, Child Molesters (skip this one, it's disturbing), the UN (connected to the previous chapter), Remembering Names, Minimum Wage, Aging, Opinion Polls (GREAT CHAPTER), Poverty, Parenting, and Illegal Immigration. Just enough to get you a quick intro to Glenn's world view, with tons of funny ADD bubbles, hysterical cartoons, and entertaining graphics. I buy and read just about every new conservative book that is published. This is not an Ann Coulter book with extensive footnotes and insight. Not a Sean Hannity book of repetition. Not a Michael Savage book with mindless vitriole (except 2 comments on Rosie's weight, and some comparison between Nancy Pelosi and Lindsay Lohan that I can't understand). Most of these books you have to sit down and focus on to read, and many get boring after 50 pages. Put it another way--you've never read a "political" book like this, because it's not really political. It is the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment (don't sue me...). It also beats the socks off the "real america", which was rather boring to read (I think Glenn wrote it himself...). It's not about left and right, but right and wrong, and Glenn really does say what those of us who aren't thinking, are thinking. Those of you who write negative reviews without even reading the book have no clue who Glenn really is as a person. He's not as witty as Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh (and does not claim to be), but he's entertaining and REAL. If you listen to his show long enough, you will realize that he is a complete amateur, and that most of his famous Media Matters gaffes are just him being completely bumbling and not expressing himself right. He is the most paranoid optimist you'll ever hear on the future of the American people, which is why I love listening to him. A few small comments. First, if you are a freak, and a fan of the show, most of this is nothing you haven't heard before. As a matter of fact, I think some of the photos (the gay Glenn photo for sure), and some of the text is lifted right out of his Fusion magazine. I can't blame him--Fusion has a fairly limited circulation, so I'd imagine 95% of the readers haven't seen this before. Second, there are a few small mistakes. Blame it on Glenn's ADD. Which, if you had to suffer through the boring week on the radio when he took Ritalin, you should be grateful for (he talked to callers for longer than 2 minutes and actually listened to them... it was a snooze). I must point out, that last I checked, the governor of Washington State was ChrisTINE Gregoire, who is most definitely not a "he" (page 151). Also, I think the Merriam-Webster TIP definition is apocryphal--at least it wasn't in my edition (page 164). In Glenn's defense, the book is full of references to his ADD and inability to remember facts and names, so it is internally consistent. One more thing--I stand firmly against the Public Affairs Act of 1975, and Glenn is a hatemonger for supporting it. All of you should call your senators and tell them not to let Bush and his cronies at Halliburton get away with supporting Big Oil with the continuation of the Public Affairs Act of 1975 (page 236). Way to go, Glenn! Can't wait to see what your next big project might be (you've made some references on your show.....)

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