It's no longer funny 2010-09-02

Reviewer: Samuel Chell

It's time for thoughtful conservatives as well as liberals to stop pretending that politics is off-limits, thereby surrendering the field to all of those misguided souls--decent Americans, for the most part--who cite Glenn Beck as a authority, a man of intellect and common sense, a "source" of facts and profound truths. He is a cesspool of factoids, lies and misinformation, an evangelical pitchman who knows how to make people--those who feel threatened, overwhelmed, and irrelevant--feel good about themselves. If you have not had to give way to the "wisdom" of Glenn Beck--at the barber shop, the work place, the school room (face it, many secondary teachers now regularly turn to Fox News as a source of the "knowledge" that presumably will enable our youth to deal with the enormous changes facing our families, our cities, states, and country, our world in the near future). Do not be deceived by his mask of superficial sincerity, his hyper histrionics, his meandering preambles about undertaking a journey in learning. If that were the case, people would not flock to his pep rallies, regard him as a latter day saint with privileged access to "the" truth,or be sold a bill of goods by him (and nothing as harmless as the fool's gold he claims as a sponsor). Or buy the gold, but respect those who feel they might better be helped by "big government atrocities" like Social Security and Medicare. Anyone who has managed to avoid him--despite the media blitz, the god talk, the rallies and crusades--needs to read this book. If it offers helpful advice about arguing with idiots, good. But what's really at stake here is discovering not the idiot but the terrorist in our midst. It was bad enough when, back in the '90s, the American people were offered a "contract with America" amounting to nothing more than a single party's initiative to overrule democracy and take control of the country's fortunes. Today the contract being offered comes courtesy of a megalomaniac, and where megalomania is concerned there's room for only one. (Be honest. How many tea parties have you enjoyed or even attended since this non-idiot began throwing them?)

Content: Fantastic. Formatting for Kindle: Horrible. 2010-09-01

Reviewer:

The way in which the print version of this book was formatted for the Kindle results in a thoroughly confusing read.

I believe that the information and arguments Glenn Beck makes in this book are well researched and presented, and leave Progressives with little or no room for their specious beliefs. It is an important read for any person who is unsure to the actual truth in life and who care about our country and wants help the "idiots" in their life get onto a path of conservative enlightenment.

In the print version of this title, Mr. Beck uses various colors and formatting to present not only the main text but supplemental information in the form of graphics, cartoons, images, and special commentary under special headings such as "A.D.D. Moment," or "Celebrity Guest Idiot," to name two.

This use of various formatting allows a reader to logically progress through the book as it lays out arguments and answers in a logical format. A reader can, at his or her will, stop at the end of a argument or section, as they choose, and go back and read the extra information.

In the Kinlde edition, this is not possible and leaves the reader confused and lost. In this version these supplemental items appears as regular text which interrupts the flow of the ideas being presented, usaully with no warning to what is going on. They appear in seemingly random locations within the primary flow of the text, sometimes even interrupting a sentence or paragraph midstream, then jumping to another stream of thought, and then after reading another "Kindle page" or two, jumping back (again with no warning) to the main text. As I read this book, I would often have to stop and go back in an attempt to mentally construct what the format of the text of the book was supposed to be.

Additionally, for many of the graphics which contain textual information in addition to the illustration, it is extremely difficult to read due to the small size in which it is presented on the Kindle screen. This left me wondering whether I was missing something important in argument being made, and how relevant was the information I was missing.

Unless this edition is reformatted into a "Kindle friendly" format, or you have no other option but to access to this book using the Kindle, I would avoid this version of the book and go through the trouble of getting the print version.

Arguing with Idiots:How To Stop Small Minds and Big Governement . 2010-08-18

Reviewer: Jose Lopez

Glenn Beck is Hilarious and informative and the book just proves that in doesn't bash liberals it bashes Failed policies,if any 1star paid liberal reviewer or hateful person would actually get past the title and cover then they could read for themselves,enlighten themselves,I don't listen to Beck alot or as much as I would like to,I see no problem with what he says,compare him to Someone who says "Worst Person in The World" and you will feel good that your on the Right side literally. From Amtrak to LBJ'S Great Society and to why Communism/Socialism doesn't work and how well intentioned Policies can leave to disaster,He even Mentions Nixon see Not so Bad after all To those of you on the left.

Thought Provoking and Witty 2010-08-15

Reviewer: CoffeeLover

Interesting points that made me think. I like the authors wittiness and appreciate that he tells it like it is.

The Triumph of Idiocy 2010-08-09

Reviewer: Merlin

Here comes the charlatan who has never volunteered for military service, but who "condescends" to adorn himself in military attire, packaging and then selling himself as a patriot to his ignorant, slobbering worshippers.

In a typical non-scholarly fashion, the book embodies its author's challenges in the areas of truth, reasoning and facts. In years gone-by, the Conservative movement had credible gatekeepers of truth such as William Buckley. It is a pity that America is now tolerating the triumph of ignorance, anti-intellectualism and bold celebrations of wholesale stupidity. Our enemies need not do anything but sit back and watch in amusement as we self-destruct in hallucinatory inanities. A true American patriot is the one who rejects and speaks out against shallow rantings of this nature. Make no mistake, ignoring the fool can be dangerous.