Customer Reviews

Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism

5 star:		(271)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(35)
1 star:		(268)

 

 

In Let Freedom Ring, Sean Hannity sends out the subliminal message that he and his writing are about truth, justice, and the American way. The cover is cloaked in red, white and blue, and the title represents everything true and good about him and America. Liberals he concedes are loving parents, good people, hard workers, but misguided. (He actually is far kinder than Savage here.) But they just don't know how to defend or lead a country. For his five-star reviewers his message reinforces any pre-conceived beliefs and Hannity's words, not his sources, validate those beliefs.

If this was written by a ghost writer, he should have withheld payment. If it wasn't written by a ghostwriter, Hannity should have one for his next attempt at literary hyperbole because this reads like a collection of poorly constructed arguments based on faulty, unwarranted assumptions.

The first chapter is written in a maudlin, "those-were-the-good-old-days" wistfulness of his immigrant grandfather whom he describes as an honest man of integrity, and a believer in the American dream. But before you can say "Erin Go Braugh" he is talking about the courage of George W. Bush for standing up to terrorism. Exactly how G.W. does, he doesn't elaborate. How he morphs from grandfather to Dubbya is almost magical.

Hannity's next trick is to impugn Clinton and Gore as being soft on terrorism. His source for this is, of all people, Dick Morris who knew the Clintons and now works for the Fox Republican Advocacy Network. He quotes Morris who makes such vague statements as "It seemed they were afraid of talking about terrorism," or "they seemed to be indifferent to terrorism." These "Morris mind-reads" are conjectural, but Hannity quotes them as if they are undisputed fact.

Let's take a closer look at Hannity's unimpeachable source for a moment. It was Dick Morris who quit the Clintons shortly after the second election. It was Morris who had a penchant for streetwalkers, did some jail time, and entered alcohol rehab. You'd think SH could find a better source if he expects freedom to ring!

But, Hannity doesn't skip a beat. He points out how democrats such as Senators Kerry and Daschle voted against certain defense-spending bills. What he neglects to inform his readers are the reasons they did because of riders that were attached to the bills, or the number of republicans who also voted against the same bills, or the many defense bills that Kerry and Daschle did vote for. He never once advises his reader of the defense spending programs that were killed by Dick Cheney when he was Secretary of Defense. Such deception is called propaganda.

Propaganda is something that Hannity has no compunction using here. This he does in continuing to tell a tale that has long since been debunked. Namely, it is the story of President Clinton being offered Osama bin Laden by the Sudanese government. Again, it's what he doesn't say that misdirects the reader. Sudan made the offer in the hope of having the economic sanctions against them for slave-trading, lifted. However, the FBI determined that the Sudanese were playing us because they had neither the ability nor the intent of handing over bin Laden. The Sudanese also made the offer to Saudi Arabia, but the Saudis had revoked bin Laden's citizenship, and refused to take him.

He also states that Clinton should have gone after Osama bin Laden employing overt or covert operations. In fact, Clinton tried (and failed) several times to get bin Laden. Unfortunately, the President of the United States forgot to consult or advise this conservative pundit each time he tried. The fact that Bush failed on a grander scale seems to be of little consequence.

Benjamin Franklin said "Statistics is a liar." Hannity uses charts for the same purpose. He shows how under Reagan, the army bought over 500 tanks. Under Clinton, the army bought none. This leads one to the assumption that Clinton did nothing for the services. He doesn't mention that the army buys tanks, not presidents. He doesn't mention the army had all the tanks they needed for armored warfare against the Soviet Union that never came. He doesn't mention that the army began changing its warfare strategies which would include more transportable fighting vehicles.

Be grateful that Hannity cannot rewrite famous works of literature as he attempts to do with history. If he could, instead of seeing a dead Captain Ahab being killed by the whale in "Moby Dick," we might just see a grinning captain standing next to a tethered whale with the caption: "I caught a fish this big!"

There's something very fishy about his facts, his historical parallels which aren't parallel, and what he chooses to tell you, and what he chooses to leave out.

In this book, he tells whale-sized whoppers!

The principal casualty of Hannity's tract is objectivity: of course, he doesn't even pretend to be objective, as he announces in the title of this book, but even a long-time conservative has trouble swallowing some of the BS he slings in this book. Most of us are economic conservatives, but this doesn't preclude either compassion or a truly fair assessment of both the left and the right, and Hannity has no use for either of these.

A real stinker.

Hi! I just wanted to say, though a little biased himself, Sean Hannity seems to be honest, and seems to be trying to tell it like it is. He's much like Michael Moore, but on the opposite side of the same coin, and not as funny, or outrageous. This is a book that everyone who has read Michael Moore's, "Stupid White Men", should read. And, maybe it's just my small "i" independent thinking, but I really do think both sides ought to get their values back into perspective -- re-institute the standard -- by reading Norman Thomas Remick's metaphore of what it means to be an American, "West Point: Character Leadership Education, A Book Developed From The Readings And Writings Of Thomas Jefferson". Thank you.

I find it amusing that when ever someone who disagrees with a conservative, they try to defeat him/her by slaming thier character in attempts to destroy them. Over the years that I've watched and listened to his program, he always treats the people that he disagrees with kindness and compassion. This book is no different, essentially his show in written form. He always welcomes an open rational dicussion with other viewpoints. Read this along with Ann Coulter's book, "Slander"

The title of my review is in the promo of his radio show and does aptly describe him. I have listened to Hannity on WABC on my drive home from work each day but only for 1 hour. I have only been partially Hannitized. I have also on occasion watched parts of the Hannity and Colmes show on the Fox News network. Any regular listener of his show would know what to expect in this book. It is a clear and uninterrupted account of his views. The book presents his views on politics, abortion, the war on terrorism, American education, etc. The theme is the danger he sees in members of the liberal left wing of the Democratic Party. He has his facts right and present his case well.
I am a middle of the road Democrat, so there is a "but" coming in my comments. On some issues his interpretation is dead wrong and I think that his tactics somewhat like those of Ann Coulter paint an exaggerated picture of evil and danger on the left just as they rightfully complain about the dangerous and evil picture the Democrats effectively portray of conservatives.

First, I agree with him about the moral decay in the country, I agree that our primary and secondary school education needs an overhaul and I agree that some Democrats like Tom Daschle hold extreme views and could be dangerous if they ascend to the Presidency. I disagree with him on his admiration of Reagan and North and his deamonizing of Hilliary Clinton. Hilliary and Bill Clinton do come across as phonies but their politics is not dangerous to America.

To make my point, Hannity believes that it was Reagan's efforts to build up the Defense Department that led to the end of the cold war. He also thinks that the Democrats that supported unilateral arms reduction put the nation at risk. I see it differently. During the Reagan years I was working for the US Air Force Space Defense program. Everyone knowledgeable on "Star Wars" knew that a missile defense system was dangerous because it would be extremely expensive, impossible to thoroughly test, and probably would not work. Also even to do research in the area was destabilizing because if the Soviets felt they couldn't match us they might strike first fearing that we might do the same when our system was in place.

The nuclear missile build-up was insane. Each side had more than enough arms to destroy the other 10 times over! So SALT and other arms limitation and negotiations provided hope to break the insane cycle of build-up and bring about trust. The threat of an accidental launch that would spiral into a devastating nuclear war was real. The Democrats in proposing unilateral reductions were looking for a way to calm the Soviets fear of us and gain trust that would lead to bilateral disarmament (of course never would we completely eliminate our arsenal). It was not a sign of weakness. Being Macho all the time can cause problems.

Reagan happened to be in the right place at the right time. The Russians spent themselves into bankruptcy trying to keep pace with our missile defense development. Gorbachev came along and was receptive to the peace process. This I think would have happened with a Democrat or a Republican in the White House.

This is a highly entertaining and well researched book. Read it. I think you can trust that Hannity has his facts right. But don't always be taken in by his rhetoric. I think his views do follow those of mainstream America. I agree with him on many issues but do not follow him blindly as many of his regular callers do.

I give him 4 stars for hard work, thought and persuasiveness. He also is kind to Democrats. He even has an extreme leftwinger, Flipper as his call screener. I take one star away because "even when he's wrong he's sure that he is right".

Since the time I first wrote this, I have not kept up much with Sean Hannity. I know he has written other books and promotes the work of Ann Coulter and other extreme conservatives. The Hannity and Colmes show still airs on the Fox News Network. He has also written a few more books.

A wonderful book by Mr. Hannity. It is a fresh look at issues that have been touched on before by the likes of Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Hannity not only states his beliefs, but tells you why he thinks he is right. I reccomend this book. You know he must be on to something because the liberals in this review section have come out gunning for him. Read it and find out why.

Gut-wrenching plain talk drive this page-turner. Hannity spares no one, exploring the systematic policies that virtually destroyed U.S. intellegence capabilities. After reading this book, one can see how 9-11 could have happened. Hannity cites sources extensively, backing up his assertions with facts that anyone with a computer can look up for themselves. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to know who knoew what-when and what needs to be done to prevent another 9-11. I hope the national policymakers read this books and acknowlege the facts.

If you're as left-leaning as I am, you should read this book. For what reason? If nothing else, this book takes all the evil things you always knew The Administration either believed or was in the process of planning - and systematizes it into straightforward, terrifyingly clear language. I'm not kidding. Every page is shocking and should be repulsive to anyone with half a brain.
For those of you who won't be able to make it past Hannity's sickly smirk on the cover, don't worry, because I can save you some time: He agrees with the Bush administration on EVERY SINGLE ISSUE AND QUASI-ISSUE IN AMERICAN POLITICS. It's a strange coincidence, isn't it? All the things that Bush wants, Hannity wants. And everything that Hannity wants, Bush is already working on.

This book is a joke. I can't imagine what people in other countries must think of us when they see stuff like this.

There is nothing - I repeat, absolutely nothing - in this book that hasn't been proclaimed a thousand times before by, say, Roman senators pushing for war in Africa, or for that matter, Hitler's early speeches about nationalism. It's the same old story - fool the people, make them believe what you believe. It doesn't seem like it's that hard. This book has forced me to acknowledge the conclusion that the typical person really isn't all that smart or free-thinking.

All the same - read it. Take its Orwellian dogmas and write them on your wall until you're finally moved to do something about the sordid state of our empire. This is the New World Order - barely disguised.

Being a republican I decided this book may make an interesting read. First let me state, I didn't read Al Franken's "Lies..." that most of the reviewers quoted in attempt to defame Mr. Hannity. I am not a fan of Al Franken myself and don't believe it is right for a comedian, in his attempt to sell books, to profit off the name of people he dislikes. It seems that the big selling point of the Franken political parody/mockubook was to villianize conservative voices.

Well, I actually enjoyed "Let Freedom Ring" myself and thought there was some pretty good insight regarding the times we live in. I will honestly say I don't agree with 100% (close to 95%)of everything Sean Hannity says, but I did enjoy reading his point of views whether I agreed or not. I will be looking forward to his new book when it arrives in stores early next year!

It's about time more conservatives came out and told the truth. Liberals have pretty much dominated most media outlets. Thank God for people like Sean, Rush Limbaugh, and Roger Hedgecock. I can't wait for Mr Hannity's next book. He is thorough in his research and direct in the facts. No spin here. If you want to learn more about the truth of our country and the way things really are, this is a must read. I think even Liberals might even be able to comprehend this book, although it will require them to step aside from their blind loyalty to the Liberal mindset. Found the book to be very rewarding. Keep up the good work Sean!