Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal [Hardcover]

Barry Crimmins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2004

Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal is a personal and political history told with acid humor and a loving heart. Barry Crimmins, a writer and commentator on Air America Radio, travels from a skeptical childhood in frozen upstate New York, through the founding of the Boston comedy scene, to a career as a satirist and activist. No villain is spared; no hero is forgotten. Crimmins also cuts a hilarious swath through our political tormentors, in the spirit of Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and Lenny Bruce.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Humor writer and political activist Crimmins is a hero among professional comedians for having helped launch the careers of Steven Wright, Bobcat Goldthwait and others. While he's recently gained wider recognition through his stand-up performances and his writing for Air America Radio, this funny, intelligent book could increase his audience even more. Witty and insightful, it has the potential to make Crimmins a prominent voice on the left. One-page groupings of political one-liners are interspersed between short, provocative and extremely well-written essays. Crimmins takes a comedic scalpel to various right-wing targets, including what he perceives as post-9/11 jingoism, conservative "clone candidates," Henry Kissinger (who inspired the book's title), Dennis Miller and various members of the Bush administration, especially John Ashcroft and his support of the Patriot Act ("Kaiser Ashcroft doesn't think of them as nukes—he considers them 'rapture accelerants' "). He also combines autobiographical glimpses of his youth in Skaneateles, N.Y. ("an Indian word that means 'beautiful lake surrounded by fascists' "), and his life in the 1980s managing the Ding Ho, Boston's first real comedy club, with more substantial attacks on George W. Bush's government. Unapologetically admitting to preaching to the choir, "since the choir in America really needs a night out now and then," Crimmins presents "a thoughtful resistance to the madness of an era."
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About the Author

BARRY CRIMMINS grew up in Skaneateles ("an Indian name meaning 'small lake surrounded by fascists'"), New York. In his time he has worked with many comedy greats, near-greats, and ingrates, and his exploits have included a stint writing for Dennis Miller. Crimmins lives in Troupsburg, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583226605
• ISBN-13: 978-1583226605
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,380,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a memoir and political essays -- and all very funny, April 5, 2005

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal (Hardcover)

Barry Crimmins grew up in Skaneateles, NY, and was a fixture in Boston stand-up comedy or years. We learn a lot about this, his family, and his opinions about politics today in this series of very funny essays covering topics such as 9/11, corporate corruption, Henry Kissinger, the Clintons, activism, Dennis Miller, comedy, Reagan, Air America Radio, NPR, the Iraq War, etc. Scattered between the essays are one-liners (Bush says he is eating beef and isn't vaguely concerned about the possibility of mad cow disease. Of course he isn't--the disease attacks the brain.)

If you're a progressive, there are lots of lines that will make you nod or smile or laugh (Not since Ronald Reagan have we had a president who is as stupid as he is evil.) Conservatives who've drunk the Bush kool-aid will not enjoy this, but all others will.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shake hands with Barry Crimmins, November 16, 2004

By 

D. Spencer (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal (Hardcover)

Crimmins' satire can lacerate like razor wire. It's also laugh-out-loud funny. His comments on the current White House administration, and Conservatives of nearly any ilk, are biting and savagely witty. But even those who don't subscribe to the author's partisan ideology should be impressed by several thoughtful essays in this book - ruminations on his hometown near the Finger Lakes, a eulogy for a cancer-stricken friend, his fond memories as founder of the Boston comedy scene circa 1979, his introspective examination of how annual copious snowfall in Central New York state creates hearty skeptics, an encounter with a lost boy and a Good Samaritan. These essays and others show that the author is more than just a political animal. He's also a keen observer of the human condition (a hallmark trait of any fine satirist). Mainly, though, the book focuses on Crimmins' high-principled views, which are insightful, unapologetic, and often very funny.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool drink of reality, November 9, 2004

By 

Joy Ward (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal (Hardcover)

In a world where the Emperor's Clothes have become the Emperor's news media, Barry Crimmins voice has the ring of honesty. His biting humor and painfully honest historical revelations remind readers that there is still value in truth, however hard that truth may be. On top of that, Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal is a great read. Crimmins' writing is amazingly skillful and multi-textured. This book is a cool drink of reality, satisfying both the soul and the mind.