Customer Reviews

The Bush - Haters Handbook: A Guide to the Most Appalling Presidency of the Past 100 Years

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

For the reviewer below mine who has begged for a review of the book and not how much they hate Bush, I will attempt to grant his wish.

This book is somewhat strident in its tone, which, considering the title, is understandable. It does provide a ton of facts for those who may feel verbally combative with the neighborhood neocon. It is a compilation of Bush's lies, deals, swindles, contradictions, etc. It is broken down into topics such as economy, veterans, etc.

What is important about these facts is that a lot of people are not familiar with them, and the people who like the president don't want to become familiar with them. Keep in mind, this book was written before the start of his second term, and his popularity has dropped to the freezing mark as of this writing i.e. 32%--not degrees.

I believe this book had one bit of conjecture I didn't like, and that was the uncomfirmable assertion that he impregnated a woman who later had an abortion with the help of one of Bush's friends. (Rove, perhaps?) Supposedly, this woman is now married, and not talking or admitting, therefore it should not have been mentioned.

The facts of the book are otherwise unassailable especially for a president who implied that he would do almost anything for our soldiers and veterans, and then didn't. In fact, the book brings out all the things that Bush did to hurt our veterans by closing VA hospitals, freezing pay hikes, balking at raising the death benefit for GI insurance, trying to cut combat pay, and housing allowance pay, to name a few.

Anyone who looks at Bush's business dealings, the way he attacked McCain during the 2000 primary in Carolina, could easily see what kind of man this country would be getting. They wouldn't have had to buy this book to find out that he was a divider, a nation-builder, a man without principle or integrity, nor one who could take responsibility for anything.

If you want to catalogue this man's impeachable offenses, this book is a good start. Beware. It is a little like the writing of Michael Savage. It will anger liberal and neocon alike. That's the drawback to a fine litany of mistakes and character flaws.

The title says it all. If you hate the current occupant of the White House and end up getting in arguments with your friends and family about how you should be patriotic and uspport out president this book will give you some ammunition to hold up your side of the argument.

I wish it had been titled differently as it is a better book than you might expect from the cover. Authoer Huberman does a credible job laying out tall the reasons why he thinks Bush doesn't belong on Pennsylvania Avenue.

I guess bias seems inescapable in a book so provacatively titled but it is more readable and credible than most of Micheal Moore's hysterical rantings.

In my opinion Jame Bovard lays out a better case in "The Bush Betrayal". If you were going to read one book that lays out the case against our fratboy president go for Bovard. If you can't get enough of the Bush bashing, this is decent followup to Bovards work even though it covers much of the same ground.

This work is a beautifully written expose of what most us (except die hard fundamentalists, self intereted billionaires and people whose job depends on Bush's 2nd try at winning the presidncy) already intuitively knew. There are over 100 books out there about this man's dishonesty, corrupt nature, intellectual deficiencies that all tell a very important story. If it were a court of law where the preponderance of evidence was needed there would be a guilty verdict on 99% of what has been presented about this derelict. In a criminal court I beleive the circumstantial evidence would produce the same result. This book goes deeper and explains why. It almost makes one feel sorry for the selected president if his deeds were not so despicable. I read the negative reviews here also. In the torrent of wildly positively rated intelligent reviews these negative ones sounded silly and trite. I'd pay no attention to them -you'd be denying yourself an insigtful journey into the life and lack of character of a man that has a more negative influence on individual Americans' lives since King George. I mean a point of comparison with Clinton: travel gate, whitewater, sexual indescretion compared to war crimes, illegal wars, tampering with government records, allowing 9/11 through incompetence at least, manufactured intelligence to achieve a decitful end, outright lies to accomplish an predetermined agenda, I mean the list goes on and on - these are high crimes and I would question anyone's let alone the president's responsibility for a thought pattern that has produced the start of the near ruination of the country. The shrink is right - the therapy starts with removing him from office before he destroy's the entire country if he already hasn't and we won't know it for sure until after he is reappointed.

Huberman has compiled a lengthy list of Dubya's shortcomings, which together paint a disturbing and unflattering picture of perhaps the worst president ever. However, the book is a bit light on Bush's failings in international affairs and I would recommend Bushwhacked by Michael B. Davie as a great companion book that provides ample evidence of how Bush turns friends into foes with his unstatesmanlike conduct on the world stage. Read both books and you'll find Bush comes up short at home and around the globe, time after time.

Liberals will find it a useful tool for disputing rightwing dittoheads. Conservatives will find it a valuable resource for understanding the left's disgust for President Bush. People of every political stripe will find it a well documented (268 footnotes) overview of Jr.'s presidential record.

Huberman writes in a concise style that neither panders nor sugar-coats the facts. He presents his material encyclopedia style, allowing the reader to look up information quickly and easily. From "Abortion, Birth Control and Reproductive Health" to "Zinni, Anthony", the wide ranging topics cover a great deal of ground.

Whether you like George W. Bush or despise him, this book is a must-read for anyone who will be voting for President in November, 2004.

Not that any American actually NEEDS a handbook to hate Bush, but those of us committed to handing him his pink slip need to fortify ourselves for the nasty battle that has already begun. This book is an easy, quick read with useful information. It's well-written and well worth your time.

When I first cracked the cover on Huberman's book, I opened it to a section called the "Bush Economic Recession" on page 111: "According to the Census Bureau's annual report on income and poverty - and contrary to Republican claims - the recession of 2001 to 2003 began in March 2001, and not under Clinton." Wow! What a bombshell.

This was not a bunch of whining or political rhetoric. Instead Huberman writes in a crisp, succinct style which he backs with facts. Bush-haters will relish the facts while Bush-lovers will say they are not true. Huberman has written a love it or hate it bombshell that is sure to stir controversy.

(BTW as I write this review the news story about Paul O'Neill has come out.O'Neill contends that the Bush administration began to lay the groundwork for an invasion of Iraq just a few days after Bush came into office. O'Neill's book is another one where you will love it or hate it.)

While there are better "reads" out there, like "The Price of Loyalty", if there is one book that you should buy to get a bird's eye view of the damage this adminstration is causing, it's this one. The reason is that it is concise and has a broader scope than the others I have read. It's almost like a pocket reference. On a side note - I really have to hand it to the Republican supporters of this president for their loyalty. This administration has been so remarkably, incredibly, deceitful and awful, if I was a Republican I would tell people otherwise, let alone defend Bush or vote for him. But - I digress.

When I read what the "reader from Portland Area, OR" had to say I could only shake my head in sadness. To say that a cheat, a documented liar and convicted felon "follows" or "knows" Christ is just bizarre. I think he/she is very typical of the average Bush supporter. They have a very distorted view of the world and what Jesus is all about. I truly wish God would come back and rid of us of ignorance and the people that spread such hatred for those that don't "believe" as they do.

Let's all pray that these ultra-right wing conservative Christians figure out that the bible was not written by God, but by men, like Bush, that twisted God's words with each translation in order to keep control over their people.

The God I as well as many other Christians pray to does not support such hatred and discrimination. He loves all and forgives all. Even ultra-conservative, ignorant white trash ;-)

I'm deeply impressed by Mr. Huberman's beautiful writing and his ability to keep his thinking under control without losing an ounce of his obvious passion against this regime. He shows a remarkable ability to organize his well-chosen points and he preserves nuance in the face of gross misdeeds.
Amongst all of the recent and welcome books that seek to illuminate and revile the machinations of this administration, this one stands out for its literacy, its research and its ease of use for a quick brush-up on facts. The book is a must-have for anyone committed to reclaiming our nation.