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Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance

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I'm reviewing the "Advance uncorrected proof" of "Common Nonsense - Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance".

My title says I found this book is a bit depressing. It's depressing because after showing all the ignorance, not to mention out-right lying, that goes into numerous Glenn Beck pronouncements, the author, Alexander Zaitchik, is forced to admit that Beck is not going to smarten up or disappear anytime soon. Beck's schtick makes too much money and gets too much press and gives Beck too much a feeling of omnipotence and power.

Two people can look at the same set of facts, and come to different conclusions. Of course. But as Zaitchik illustrates, Beck pulls stuff out of the air and uses it as if it's a fact. I want to review Zaitchik's book, itself, and not just write an opinion piece on Beck (because boy is that another review). So, speaking about this book instead of about its subject matter, I must say that Zaitchik's detail is excellent. As a non-fiction book, it has extensive footnotes and you always know from where he got his information. Though you can tell Zaithchik is not a Glenn Beck fan, there is no unsubstantiated ranting (in the manner of, oh, Glenn Beck) - rather, you're told when, where, what and how.

I found the detail fascinating and I took pages of notes while reading this book. I came away with these main points:

1. Beck was into personal attacks while he was a drug-addled drunk DJ, and cleaning up his drug habit has not cleaned up his attitude towards demonizing in the harshest terms anyone who disagrees with him. This includes what Beck considers cute stunts. During the Terry Schiavo uproar, a local newspaper columnist disagreed with Beck's view. So Beck said on his radio show that he'd like to "murder" the man, and gave out the columnist's phone number, address and email address on the air. The columnist was inundated with death threats.

2. It may only be a matter of time before someone kills someone in the name of Glenn Beck. Beck knows this - in his 2009 book "Common Sense", in at least three places Beck reminds his readers to not use violence. (The publisher's lawyers probably had a hand in that.)

3. Beck is a royal-class con man. Four times he's asked listeners to send him money so he can continue to spread the conservative word, and every time his listeners send this man money just because he asks. The last time he raked in $450,000 - personal money, it didn't belong to the station. Beck brags that he can cry on cue, there's taped interviews where he admits this.

4. Beck is trying mightily to deny it now, but you don't have to go that far back in his professional history to find some really ugly stuff. After so many people working so hard for so many years to blunt the effects and acceptability of racism, Beck has made it OK for his audience to be proudly racist. Before him, a woman might actually be ashamed to carry a sign with a picture of a black man (Obama) with a stuffed monkey stapled next to it.

There's no denying that political discourse in America today is more rancorous and uncivil than at any previous time in our history. There's no denying that misinformed talk-show demagogues and their fawning followers have hijacked key debates about national issues, and drown out the voices of thoughtful moderates with their strident, ignorant clamor. And there's no doubt that the broadcast media has played a major role in amping up the hype over controversial issues in their endless quest for ratings at the expense of truth, accuracy, balance and integrity.

"Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance," paints an appalling portrait of one of the darlings of today's paranoid, fact-challenged, know-nothing, right-wing political fringe. In this review, I won't summarize Beck's rise to prominence--I find him too thoroughly detestable to be worth that unpleasant task. But I will say that this book chronicles that rise in clear, chilling, footnoted detail, using primary sources that leave no doubt that this is an accurate picture of the man. That his racist, bigoted, militaristic, hyper-religious, fact-free, self-serving bombast has any appeal at all for any Americans is a sad statement on the extent to which willful ignorance has today become a virtue. That Beck, and others of his ilk, continue to draw oblivious, adoring listeners into their hate-filled fantasy worlds testifies to the immense power of the modern media, a power that Nazi propaganda minister the late Dr. Josef Goebbels would envy. That they continue to do so also shows the distressing triumph of mindless entertainment over factual substance. "Common Nonsense" tells the story of how this condition came to be, in a highly readable, fast-paced, compelling, disturbing narrative that would be hard to believe in some places if it weren't true.

Some books self-limit themselves to readers in certain demographic niches. If you hang on every hateful word of Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh, you need not waste your money or time on "Common Nonsense." Make no mistake about it--this is not a complimentary book. If, on the other hand, you take pride in being open-minded, want to know some of the story behind modern American demagoguery and seek to get a look at the thought processes that motivate the knee-jerk radical right, it is a must-read. I recommend it most highly to every intelligent, thoughtful American who cares about the nation's future. Dittoheads and extremist wackos need not apply...

I'm mixed on this book. On one hand, the author did a great job of researching Beck's radio past and rise in television, and takes a pretty good look at many of Beck's influences. On the other hand, the author's contempt for Beck drips from nearly every page. If anything, I think that this book will serve for the left what Beck's books do for the right: preaching to the choir. If you don't like Beck, then this book just confirms everything that you already believed, and gives you a bit extra ammunition when you call him a charlatan who is interested in nothing other than building his own personal fortune by playing to the fears of his audience.

I finished reading COMMON NONSENSE about a week ago, shortly before Glenn Beck had his encounter with actor James Gandolfini (HBO's Tony Soprano) at a New York theater. In Beck's own words:

"I said, 'Hey Jim, we have a mutual friend' and I told him and I shook his hand," Beck said. "And he said, 'What is Satan doing here?' I have my 5-year-old in my arms. I didn't shoot back: 'Why are you glorifying killing, mobsters, whoredom.' None of that ... Leave my kids out of it. Leave people's families out of it."

Upon hearing this, I had mixed emotions... I'm certainly no Beck fan, but perhaps Gandolfini could have moderated his comment a bit. Then again, I thought it was rather ironic that Beck would be "gushing" over the idea of meeting the TV star, and the moment Gandolfini indicated that the respect wasn't mutual, Beck tears the man down for the portrayal of his Tony Soprano character.

You can't have it both ways Glenn. You either like the guy or you don't. Don't feign love for the actor until he tells you, essentially, to p*** off, and THEN start off on a tirade of what an awful person the actor is because of the character he his famous for.

But I shouldn't have been surprised, having read Zaitchik's in-depth examination of Beck. The man is a total contradiction, a buffoon, a bully, and a thug. With a criminal record no less, and a self-described (and lengthy) history of alcohol and drug abuse.

And BOY do the Tea-baggers love him!

One of the more stunning stories Zaitchik relates was when Beck called the wife of a radio competitor very shortly after she had suffered a miscarriage. LIVE on the air during his program, he rings the woman up and says "We hear you had a miscarriage!" When the woman acknowledges that she had, he then proceeds to joke that her husband (Beck's competitor), "couldn't do anything right."

Needless to say, when I heard the Gandolfini story and how WOUNDED Beck was that Gandolfini had the audacity to say "What is Satan doing here" in front of Beck's 5-year-old, I couldn't help but recall the miscarriage story.

And then today, another story broke. Again, no surprise here, but Beck has gone on the record to "apologize" for spending several minutes on his show making fun of Malia Obama, the 11-year-old daughter of the president. (Not only did he make use of a demeaning and racist "voice," but he also went on to imply how stupid Obama's daughters were.)

Hey Glenn... I thought we're supposed to keep families --and especially the children, "out of it."

I guess this shows the true character of the man.

The book reveals much more... read it, and be surprised by nothing that gushes out of Beck's mouth.

- Jonathan Sabin

"Common Nonsense" by Alexander Zaitchik is an astute and ultimating devastating deconstruction of the life and career of Glenn Beck. Mr. Zaitchik writes with the intelligence of a well-educated person who has gained a mature and nuanced perspective on culture, history and politics from his experiences living in both the U.S. and Europe. In the person of Beck, Mr. Zaitchik finds a peculiarly American charlatan whose frequently incoherent rants would be mildly amusing if they were not received as the gospel truth by legions of historically- and intellectually-challenged fans.

From Beck's troubled childhood to his ignominous career as a radio deejay and up to his latest incarnation as a charlatan of the corporate media, Mr. Zaitchik documents the life of a decidely unlikeable man. We learn how decades of drug abuse and cruel behavior towards others left behind a string of broken interpersonal relationships and the prospect of a failed career. However, fate came smiling upon Beck in the form of the Florida presidential election debacle of 2000, where Beck benefited from being the sole talk radio host employed in Tampa, Florida. From that moment on, Mr. Zaichik shows how Beck rode the right-wing tide of perceived injustice to amass personal fortune and fame; even as Beck possessed barely a grade-school education but had continuously nurtured a lifelong desire to be at the center of attention.

Importantly, Mr. Zaitchik explores the cultural roots of Beck and those who clamor for his peculiarly dangerous mix of political fantasy and cultural intolerance. The author picks apart Beck's contradictions at will, showing how Beck is frequently oblivious to American history even as he subscribes to crackpot conspiracy theories and champions causes that make little practical sense. Mr. Zaitchik attributes Beck's pathologies to a number of ugly cultural influences that are nonetheless politically useful to the Republican Party; inasmuch as bigotry and intolerance can succeed in channeling white working-class resentment away from corporate malfeasance at a time when, thankfully, the Reagan Revolution would otherwise appear to be unraveling.

Sure to outrage Beck's most passionate fans but destined to enlighten the rest of us, I highly recommend this compelling book to everyone.

Glenn Beck is a very smart phoney who has scared America into his thinking. Unfortunately, he is bipolar and so disordered, that he is now believing all of what he speaks. This book chronicles his rapid cycling and his mood swings that no person who has a public face should ever allow anyone to see.

Zaitchik does an excellent job of researching this book in a tell all that should be required reading for voter registration. His methods are right on and his attention to detail brings the writing off of the pages!

For those of us who have a sense of history, that is NOT the revisionist history crap that beck puts out there. However, there are indeed, strange parallels between beck and Hitler, when you look at the backgrounds and the manner in which they both came to "power". Beck is a scarey man who hates women, hates blacks and any other group who does not look like his ugly face!

It is no wonder that WOR in New York recently cancelled his radio program!

This book is a must read for those who care about the truth and the impact of beck in America today!
If it were not for scaring people, there would be no glenn beck show!

Given the Tag Suggestions available to me (i.e. wing nut, paranoid, delusional, lunatic) it's clear to me what the majority of reviews are going to say about Glenn Beck. My review, however, is focused on the book itself instead of Mr. Beck.

Common Nonsense (an obvious rewording of one of Mr. Beck's books) is mostly a biography of his life. I was surprised to read that his love of radio started at a very young age when he won a contest to appear on a local AM station at the young age of thirteen. This was, unfortunately, dampened by the tragic death of his mother the same year. A devoted audiophile, he was no doubt influenced by his early contest win and began searching the local trade publications for ways to enter the market. At fifteen, a newly-launched Seattle radio station hired him solely on the basis of his professional-sounding audition tape in spite of the fact he wasn't yet eligible for a worker's permit.

From there it moves to Beck's ventures through the "morning zoo" phenomenon popular in the 90's to his struggles with drugs and alcoholism and his later conversion to mormonism. Rather than focus on successes and failures, the focus is only on his more controversial stunts as a radio DJ and paints his ultimate success as little more than luck of the draw. It's a very negative portrayal of him that is dripping with contempt in spite of what appears to be a rather meteoric rise once he cleaned up his act. The last half of the book moves to his television career starting at CNN and later at Fox News and ends with a supposition of those who may influenced Glenn Beck's political beliefs; mostly apocalyptic types and ultra-conservatives.

I'm not a fan of Mr. Beck's shows and I believe many of Beck's followers are pretty misguided considering his (and Fox News') track record of accuracy. In spite of this, I ultimately feel this book is an unfair portrayal of Glenn Beck. Author Alexander Zaitchik is a freelance journalist who has written for Salon Magazine, Reason, The Nation, and The New Republic as well as various newspapers. Given his somewhat diverse background, I was hoping he could stick to the facts, and give his readers enough credit to come up with their own opinions about Mr. Beck but sadly that's not the case. It's a well researched book and is entertaining to read as long as you already disagree with Mr. Beck's opinions and are looking for more reasons to hate the man. If, instead, you're looking for a quick and easy takedown of Glenn Beck, then go to the Daily Show website, do a search for "Nazi Tourette's", click the "Most Viewed" button, and play the clip that aired on 5/12/10. Lewis Black will tell you everything you need to know about the man. Trust me on this one.

Yes a good read. Zaitchik is a good writer and did some very good research on the crazyman Beck. I don't think necessarily agree that one should be spending time writing books about people like Beck because Beck has and will continue to be the root of his own demise. The sad truth is the people who need to read this book...the folks brainwashed by Beck...won't do it. Anyway worth the read if you have time but you are probably smart enough to know the real deal on Beck.

I will read this book; this came on the weekend of the Tsunami and Japanese Earthquake.

However, this one has an index and is footnoted, all good signs to spend some serious time reading and allows for checking sources.

I operated a brick and mortar bookstore through the nineties, and during that time I came to know Wiley, the publisher of Common Nonsense (the title of which is a take off on a 2009 bestseller authored by Beck and Joseph Kerry titled Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine; Common Sense was also the name of Beck's 2009 comedy tour), as being among those publishers who consistently publish quality books. Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance is no exception. It is well written and apparently well researched (I say apparently because it is the only material I've read about Beck). While author Alexander Zaitchik takes a polemical tone toward Beck, interpreting anecdotes and biographical facts about Beck in ways that support Zaitchik's obvious dislike of Beck and what he represents, I found it easy to distinguish between the anecdotes and bare facts and Zaitchik's interpretations of them. To my surprise, I found that the book humanized Beck in my mind to some degree (before reading the book I sometimes thought that if I ever ran into Beck in a public place, it would take every ounce of restraint I'm capable of to refrain from, say, going medieval on him; after reading the book I think it would be like running into Ronald McDonald or the Burger King character, which is to say that after reading Common Nonsense I doubt I could ever again take Beck the man the least bit seriously).

Beck the man is one thing, Beck's influence and popularity are other things entirely, and Common Nonsense reinforced the serious if not grave concerns about these I've long had. I am sick to death of what I consider Machiavellian approaches to public discourse, whether these stem from the left or the right, liberals or conservatives, Democrats or Republicans, etc. The kinds of approaches I have in mind are designed not to encourage people to think seriously and critically with open minds but to react emotionally in knee-jerk fashion while thinking in polarized and polarizing us-vs-them terms. Beck happens to be an exemplar of such a blatantly polarizing, divisive, propagandistic approach from the right, but it seems that no political group has a monopoly on the use of propaganda, lies, distortion, and vulgar appeals to emotion.

I learned a lot (i.e., more than I knew) from Common Nonsense about how the talk radio and talk TV businesses work. I had no particular interest in any of that when I started reading Common Nonsense, but Zaitchik's fine writing made it interesting to me. (Zaitchik studied history and politics at the University of Chicago and Trinity College and Common Nonsense is his first book. While I don't find Zaitchik's polemicizing in Common Nonsense particularly off-putting, I would love to see him take a more neutral toned approach in future books, allowing the facts to speak for themselves and thereby avoiding any movement toward the very kind of bilious emotional appeals that make Beck so obnoxious.)

A highly recommended current affairs work of non-fiction for Beck critics who want to get some insight into how Beck became as popular as he has become. Once I started reading Common Nonsense I found it hard to put down, and I finished reading it in a few days.