It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America [Hardcover]

Jack Cafferty (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470144793 | ISBN-13: 978-0470144794 | Publication Date: September 10, 2007

"Very little of my backstory qualifies as Hallmark Card material, but it may help you to make sense of the way I see and interpret what's going on around me."
-Jack Cafferty

For the millions who watch the "Cafferty File" on CNN's The Situation Room, Jack Cafferty stands for common sense-the much-needed voice of reason who skewers right-wing nut jobs and liberal eggheads alike. For years, he's voiced the views, hopes, and fears of the average American in inimitable style. Now, in It's Getting Ugly Out There, he brings that level-headed wisdom to bear on the most critical issues facing us today-and explains why Americans must take our country back from those who are harming it.

"It's been a target-rich seven years for someone like me who enjoys pushing people's buttons and sticking pins in things that need pricking, from rich and fatuous celebrities offering foreign policy analysis to the latest lying Beltway blowhard impaling himself on his sword of pomposity. . . . Anyone familiar with my daily 'Cafferty File' segments on CNN's The Situation Room knows I'm not exactly what you'd call the mainstream media's poster boy for feel-good news and commentary. In your face is more like it."

"I'm no shrink, but I have the sense Bush has carried an angry chip on his shoulder much of his pampered life, seething just beneath the good-old-boy surface."

"The bottom line is that our government no longer works for us. The government works for the lobbyists who have had a big hand in influencing (if not helping to draft) legislation favoring not the average American citizen but instead big business: health insurance, pharmaceutical and oil companies, and defense contractors, among others. These are the guys who can make the kinds of political contributions that are needed to finance today's multi-million-dollar political campaigns."

"We want our troops home, but we also want a new army of elected officials to march into Washington and take a fresh, uncorrupted look at the needs of the vast majority of Americans. If these two parties, however 2008 breaks, can't fix what's broken, this way of life as we've known it may vanish into some deep, dark crevasse."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

His deep, fatherly voice may evoke the comfort of an old-fashioned, Conkrite-era news broadcast, but newsman Cafferty has made a career of saying whatever he damn well pleases: "I get paid to ask questions I don't know the answers to and to complain about the things that bother me." Reading the television news correspondent's first book feels much like watching his segments on CNN's The Situation Room, in which he follows a similarly straightforward formula: denounce bad leadership, media shortcomings and government missteps with a satirical tone just above withering. From Katrina to Iraq, from immigration to terrorism, from Bush-baiting to big business, Cafferty admits to "saying some pretty outrageous stuff" in order to get his audience riled up. Aside from skewering congress, shaming rich white guys, and repudiating Anna Nicole (the "peroxide blonde never-was"), Cafferty sheds some light on his own life, sharing personal episodes about disrespecting his boot camp drill sergeants and letting his terrier defecate in the lobby of the Des Moines television station for which he was working. Without his rich vocal presence, Cafferty's tough talking cynicism can become grating, but also cuts through, with ease, a media climate thick with rigid ideology and tabloid excess.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"It is ugly out there and Cafferty doesn't make it any prettier. Instead, it makes it easier to understand." (Syndicated Review by Tribune Media Services, November 4, 2007)

His deep, fatherly voice may evoke the comfort of an old-fashioned, Conkrite-era news broadcast, but newsman Cafferty has made a career of saying whatever he damn well pleases: "I get paid to ask questions I don't know the answers to and to complain about the things that bother me." Reading the television news correspondent's first book feels much like watching his segments on CNN's The Situation Room, in which he follows a similarly straightforward formula: denounce bad leadership, media shortcomings and government missteps with a satirical tone just above withering. From Katrina to Iraq, from immigration to terrorism, from Bush-baiting to big business, Cafferty admits to "saying some pretty outrageous stuff" in order to get his audience riled up. Aside from skewering congress, shaming rich white guys, and repudiating Anna Nicole (the "peroxide blonde never-was"), Cafferty sheds some light on his own life, sharing personal episodes about disrespecting his boot camp drill sergeants and letting his terrier defecate in the lobby of the Des Moines television station for which he was working. Without his rich vocal presence, Cafferty's tough talking cynicism can become grating, but also cuts through, with ease, a media climate thick with rigid ideology and tabloid excess. (Sept.) (Publishers Weekly, August 13, 2007)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (September 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470144793
• ISBN-13: 978-0470144794
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Cafferty is the author of the New York Times bestselling It's Getting Ugly Out There. Cafferty appears daily on CNN's popular The Situation Room,  where his "Cafferty File" segments are seen by 2 million viewers every afternoon. Prior to his current shows he appeared daily on CNN's American Morning.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Note: East Asian Flavor to Many of the Negative Reviews, August 17, 2008

By 

Michael D. Sandifer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America (Hardcover)

Count how many of the 1 star reviews are left by people with east Asian names. Some of them admit they did not read the book. Some of them say they were offended by Jack Cafferty's "goon" comments, with respect to China's leaders.

Well, unless they are members of China's totalitarian regime, there is no reason to be offended. US leadership is full of goons too. The people who get offended are just being stupid.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of what's wrong with our gov't. Easy read, important info., July 31, 2008

By 

A reader (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America (Hardcover)

This book somewhat reminds me of the "Idiots guide to..." series, yet nowhere does JC treat you like an idiot. The book is a clear guide to the major issues in our gov't today and points out a number of questions that we all need to ask ourselves the next time we vote. All of the major issues and scadals are discussed here (well, all except the numerous NEW problems that have arisen since the book was published) and I feel that if someone cannot see the logic and honesty of Jack's writing then I'd wager you are someone who LIKES to turn a blind eye to the corruption in Washington. Or maybe you voted for Bush. Maybe both, lol.

This book is also an easy read; if you are someone who is put off by political writing, know this book isn't dull at all and JC doesn't try to talk down to anyone or put himself on a pedestal. I hope he continues with another volume; Lord knows there is enough to write about. I'd like a thick chapter on Karl Rove, actually. I am sure there is a lot of info there.

One last thing: JC is on the money when he speaks of Congressional term limits. Let's bring that back...pronto!

20 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not very good, December 16, 2007

By 

Jerry L. Kruskie "book reader" (Waterford Mi.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America (Hardcover)

While there were some interesting insights of life about the white house, and the minor political squables, I found the book distasteful because of all the profanity it it. Why do writers do this? I do not care about his filthy life or distastful language. I would not recommend it to anyone. The author should read a few classics and see what could be done without his foul language.