Customer Reviews

Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I am probably one of the few people reviewing this book who hadn't read many of Ms. Dowd's columns before reading the book. That being said, I found the book to be a nice surprise on at least two levels. First, the facts it filled in for me about what goes on and has gone on for generations in the Bush family were way more valuable to me than the clever nicknames (41, 43) that peppered the text. Second, her unique style, from which said nicknames derived, allowed her to talk about the history of the Bush family in a both a humorous and forlorn manner that few writers could pull off.

The only reason why I didn't give it five stars is that I found myself when I finished the book thinking, "That was intriguing... funny... but now what?" It was, in the end, an interesting spectacle, but did she write it for anything else other than to make clever jokes? After all, she made fun of Gore and Clinton, and Reagan, etc. etc. etc. too. Is there anything she doesn't turn a cynical eye toward? One of earliest sentences in the book says it all. "It's their reality. We just live and die in it." Is she really making an anti-Bush statement, or is she just making fun of a "current President?" The book is humorous, but it's unlikely to move liberals to social action. If it's really already Bush's reality, after all, what's the point?

I believe that H.L. Mencken once spoke of some class of persons who could not push a noun and verb together without blowing something up. In that spirit, Maureen Dowd presents "Bush World". To the most protective of Bush supporters, Dowd is a bomb thrower. To anti-Bush partisans, Dowd's book is the Fourth of July. To those in the middle, "Bush World" is a rumble to be investigated.

In "Bush World", Dowd compiles her columns in the New York Times since Bush appeared on the national stage. Dowd writes with a cleverness that can be just a hazy memory to, well, a certain radio talk-show host who had conditioned his hard-core base to confuse scorn for wit. Dowd is not like that; this book is the real thing.

These colums are quite critical of the Bush administration's actions and practices. Some people might find this compilation too negative. However, another Mencken quotation comes to mind: "Nine times out of ten, in the arts as in life, there is actually no truth to be discovered; there is only error to be exposed."

You don't have to agree with what Dowd writes, in whole or in part, to value this book. I have listened to very conservative commentators whom I strongly disagreed with, and I appreciate them when they are clever or interesting. I expect my fellow citizens to the right-of-center likewise enjoy a differing viewpoint well put. Maureen Dowd is, at least, very clever and interesting. Nor did I agree with everything Dowd wrote in "Bush World". For example, several times Dowd characterizes Dick Cheney's world-view as "Hobbesian". So, what's wrong with Thomas Hobbes, who famously wrote, "[The state of nature consists of] . . . continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"? Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with Thomas Hobbes' perspective; nor, per se, with people who hold a Hobbesian world view.

I recommend "Bush World". It presents sharp commentary on and analysis of events that people who follow the news are already familiar with, at least in outline. Reading through these columns, you will recall scandals and missteps that have happened in the last four years. You might alternatively wince, smirk, and grow angry again. Or, if your perspective disposes you to disagree with Dowd, at least you can be forewarned and forearmed for discussions you might have with friends on the left -- if not with friends on the right, some of whom have jumped off the Bush bandwagon based on the last four years.

If "Bush World" pleases you or challenges you in a good way, you might also enjoy or be challenged by "Bushwacked" by Molly Ivins. The strength of that book is that it dissects actions by the Bush administration, many of which happened under the radar of the news cycle, but which have an enormous impact on average Americans.

It should be noted that while this book is a collection of her columns on G W Bush the fact is she has written some funny but hard hitting columns on Democrats and 'liberals' as well.

In Bushworld she notes that while Bush attempts to keep religion and government separate in Iraq he seeks to do the opposite of this here in the states. I even thought of her the first week in August 2004 when Bush stated that both the terrorists and he himself seek to hurt Americans. It was slip up on his part, but its slip ups and other goofs that she takes on in the book. As she notes in Bushworld 'You and I are just bit players or modern day slaves in the Bushworld. The Bush family believes that it should rule, that it is destined to rule, that it is right and just in its rule and they seem to believe that they have a right to damn well what they want. And as she shows they don't do the dirty work but play the Gotti game of using hired guns. This allows them to project a holier than thou mode, with Emily Post etiquette style.

Read the book and then do some homework and you see she's right on target. Like how GWB ran basically for revenge. Revenge against the popular Clinton who gave us the best economy in decades, and who beat Daddy Bush big time and revenge for some Iraqis making an attempt on his Daddy's life. Not because he had anything of value to offer the American people who 'hired' him. It was and is all about selfishness as her astute columns demonstrate.

Now there will be those who like the three monkeys don't want to hear see or speak no evil of the G W Bush or his father. But Ms. Dowd is one of the brave souls who dares tell the Emperor that he has no clothes and that his pious holier than thou religious image is artificial to boot.

Maureen Dowd is no Paul Krugman, the Princeton economist turned political editorialist working alongside her at the New York Times. Whereas Krugman makes a point of meticulous research and august professionalism in both his tone and content, Dowd specializes in what is basically pop political commentary in the McNews era. Where Krugman uses statistics and verifiable facts, Dowd more often relies on improvised metaphors, puns, and quasi-hip pop-culture references.

The result is that Dowd's work is easier to fly through, whereas Krugman's takes a little more effort but is ultimately more rewarding. In her constant attempts at light-hearted and jaded humor, Dowd sometimes comes off as rather flaky...but where she doesn't hit the bullseye, she usually comes pretty close in the vicinity and that is her main credit.

In "Bushworld," she zeroes in on what most Americans already know or increasingly suspect: that Bush Jr. is a hopelessly provincial, empty-headed and simplistic straw man who likes to pose as the Marlboro Man while being manipulated by Machiavellian advisors like Karl Rove and the whole pathologically deluded entourage who got us into this Iraq quagmire, now known as the "neocons" as well as the extreme religous right who in exchange for electoral support now get to write 90% of Bush's social policy positions.

It's a sad, mad, and dangerous situation which in some ways perfectly suits the often desperate attempts at humor and hip detachment to which Dowd, as a powerless spectator like most of us, resorts.

For readers who would prefer a snappier, crackle-and-pop style of writing about this hijacked, half-elected White House, Dowd's book is a fine messenger.

Dowd's writing is spectacular. . . ! You needn't be an ardent Democrat to appreciate Maureen Dowd's wit and biting sarcasm as she takes shot after shot at how the president has handled the situation in Iraq (and everything else about his personality and character--or lack thereof). I have been faithfully reading her New York Times columns for years now, and whether or not I agree with her point of view is irrelevant--quite simply, she is as good a writer as America has produced in the last 25 years in any genre. I have used a number of her columns as essay prompts for my juniors in our American Literature class. She is the best at what she does and has deserved a couple more Pulitzers since 1999. Find the puns, the word play, and witticisms, and enjoy them, keeping in mind that she took similar shots twice a week during Clinton's run at impeachment. She can make you laugh out loud with humor in one line, then cringe from a biting barb in the next. Forget your voting record, the daily poll numbers, and/or your decision in November's election. Just enjoy the writing!!!!

Maureen Dowd's "Bushworld: Enter At Your Own Risk" explores the George W. Bush Presidency in way that is different from the numerous books that have been written within the last couple of years. This book is essentially a collection of Ms. Dowd's New York Times columns on W. from his 2000 election campaign through his years in the White House. Ms. Dowd makes some interesting observations on how the entire W. presidency has been a reverse playbook of his father's George H.W. Bush's Presidency. His father's focus was on foreign policy and he lost touch with the failing economy at home, he let Saddam Hussien off the hook after the '92 Gulf War, and he was more o a moderate which angered a lot of the "Far Right" Republicans. In the beginning W. was not as concerned with foreign policy(until 9/11 forced him to). W. also has been more aligned with the "Far Right" than his father was. These are areas Maureen Dowd explores in an inciteful and humuorus way.

Although people may say, "Why read a bunch of old columns?", I am here to say those people are wrong. This book is highly entertaining, funny, insightful, and absorbing. Once started reading a few columns early on, I had to keep reading and reading. Maureen Dowd is a very witty writer, sprinkling loads of pop culture refrences in describing Bush and his administration. I found a particular column using the movie "The Godfather" to be hilarious and very clever. She also has a columns describing the Bush administration as monarchy and comparing the Bushes and the Kennedys. As someone who had never read any of Ms. Dowd's columns before this book was a treat and I learned a lot about politics over the last five years. I have to say as I was reading this book I had to sign up for the online version of the New York Times so I can read the current columns of Ms. Dowd! "Bushies" may not like what she has to say, but in my opinion her columns are dead on and worth a read. Maureen Dowd is a great columnist and I look forward to reading her more in the future, and I love how she combines that pop culture refrences into her columns. Check it out and take are journey into the Presidency of W.!

I voted for Bush in 2000. I thought "I live in California so my state is gonna go for Gore anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Let me give Bush a chance." DUMB. DUMB. SO, SO STUPID. Now I feel sick to my stomach that I ever gave Bush that one vote. This book reminded me of some of the reasons why. The introduction was so amazing that I had to read it twice. It's amazing to me that the richest nation in the world still hasn't figured out how to fulfill the American promise to its poorest citizens. So, anyway, this book comes fully recommended. And if you are reading this review, go donate some money to moveon.org or drivingvotes.org. Thanks.

Sassy, witty, and possessing saliva that is definitely acidic, this author, via the acerbic commentary in her columns, gives the reader a delightful overview of three administrations that have zero intersection in their ideologies, but almost total agreement in their practices, hypocrisies, and brutalities. The worrywort Bush 41, the over-active-libido Clinton, and the verbally stymied Bush 43 get accurate representation in this book, as do some of their cohorts in political manipulation and distortion. The author though clearly defines current political reality in terms of the mentally challenged young boy who currently lives in the White House. This boy has created a world that is unequaled in the sheer audacity of its actions and brutality. It is a world populated by cheaters, manipulators, and yellow bellies. It is a world where cowardice is hidden behind tact and prudence, and where bravado masquerades as courage. It is a world where wars are waged under the guise of national security, and a world whose leaders are dumbfounded about the nature of cause and effect.

The author gives clever names to the individuals who have contributed their (extremely limited) talents to the creation of Bushworld. The "quiet American" Dick Cheney, who dares not speak up lest his real nature and many personal insecurities be revealed, has most fittingly been given the name "Uncle Dick of the Underworld." A true villain, and the most evil of all those who have created Bushworld, Uncle Dick is afraid of letting others know exactly who he is: a weak and cowardly individual who is perfectly content with sending others to war, but has steadfastly avoided it himself. Uncle Dick is a pseudo-intellectual who confuses the creation of wealth with its plundering, and is the perfect Lieutenant Keefer, most assuredly deserving a cocktail be splashed in his face, and one that any person of integrity would like to challenge to a boxing match (one would have to be very drunk though, so as to make it a fair fight).

It is definitely a catharsis to read the author's columns over the last few years. They relieve some of the mental tension that builds up after hearing about another American and Iraqi death. Political commentary, like literature and dance, can give momentary solace. But thankfully it does not tranquilize: it does not impede one from taking appropriate action. Like a good mystery or difficult mathematics, it stimulates the brain into finding an algorithm to alleviate the suffering caused by the creators of Bushworld.

There is nothing surreal about Bushworld, despite the comical flavor that is sometimes imputed to it in this book. We can chuckle at the Dowd characterization of Bushworld as well as mourn for those whose lives have been terminated in it. We can get angry at Bushworld for its flippant disregard for history, and raise our fists in defiance at its stupidity, sadism and arrogance. But, we don't have to live and die in Bushworld: we can pull down the autumn lever and dissolve it entirely.

What the Unfit for Command does for John Kerry, Bush World does for Bush. This book is very funny yet also a little frightening. After all it cites actual presidential interviews and comentaries to portray Bush. Not only does she make Bush appear Dumb with a capital D but since she backs these statements up you are chilled that a man this dumb could wind up in the White house.
With the election coming up a I recomend this book so that you can look objectively at "King Bush".

--David

I've enjoyed Maureen Dowd's column for years. She can write very well and always has her wits about her. For those who dismiss this collection of columns as some left wing rant...please go back and read her columns on Clinton! She's an equal opportunity critic for sure! This book will have you laugh, cry, express alarm, and everything in between.